


A More Fruitful Bond

by belovedhypnos



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Biology, Babies, Bottom Castiel, Canon Related, Canon Universe, Domestic Fluff, Eggpreg, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Internalized Homophobia, Lots of blushing, M/M, Men of Letters Bunker, Mpreg, Nephilim, Pregnant Castiel, Sam is awesome, Top Dean, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2015-06-09
Packaged: 2018-03-26 12:48:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3851551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belovedhypnos/pseuds/belovedhypnos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dean and Cas finally understand that they belong together, they take their bond to a whole new level. Little do they know of how new.<br/>Eggpreg, lots of fluff with some smut, and a little bit of angst and drama in the later chapters. But mostly: tooth-rotting fluff.<br/>Kind of a season 10 AU. Dean doesn't have the Mark (anymore).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Secretly

They were sitting in the bunker library, working on something that Sam had found that vaguely resembled a case. Dean knew he had been unusually quiet lately, and it annoyed him how Cas was just tolerating it. He knew he seemed sullen, and Cas didn’t deserve any of it, but of course the angel wasn’t going to say anything about it. He clearly though Dean wanted him to let him be. He was too kind. Always so compliant and infuriatingly patient with Dean.

Dean couldn’t take it for long.

“So, that angel chick”, he said suddenly, almost embarrassed how tense his voice sounded. “Hannah. You two together then?”

On the other side of the table, Cas lifted his gaze from a massive, worn-out old book. Dean felt a small wave of relief washing over him, as Cas’ brow furrowed and a profound confusion took over his face.

“No, we are not “together””, he said. There was a trace of irritation in his voice, and Dean didn’t know what to make of it.

“But you’d want to be?” he suggested, giving Cas his “don’t-bullshit-me” grin, but he knew it probably didn’t look very genuine.

Cas sighed. There was an almost hurt look in his eyes. It jabbed something in Dean’s chest. _Dear God don’t let Cas be in love with her._

“Why are you asking me these questions?” Cas said, squinting at Dean. For a fleeting moment Dean felt inexplicable bitterness about the thought of Cas spending the majority of eternity making that face at somebody else.

“Just curious”, he managed to say. “You know, you’ve been away a lot.” _Oops._ He hadn’t planned on adding that.

Cas’ face changed. It went from confusion to sadness. “I am sorry, Dean. I have needed time… to think.”

Dean felt his stomach drop to his toes. He stared at Cas, swallowing hard. Cas averted his eyes, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“Think? Think about what?” Dean said then, even though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. Cas was about to make a decision. If that decision didn’t include Dean, quite frankly he didn’t know how to cope with that information.

Cas stared at the book under his nose, clenching his jaw and looking like he had temporally lost his ability to speak. They sat in tense silence for a moment, until Dean couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Dammit, Cas! Answer me!” he shouted as he stood up abruptly.

“To think about where I belong”, Cas said firmly, as he lifted his gaze from the book.

Dean sat back down, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He ran his hand through his hair, trying to collect himself. What the hell was wrong with him? Actually, it had begun to dawn on him. But it was something he didn’t dare to think about too much.

“I don’t really understand why you’re so angry at me”, Cas said quietly.

“I’m not”, Dean said quickly, “I’m not.” He felt burning underneath his eyelids. Dammit, he was not going to cry. “Fuck, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Cas.” He stood up and walked at the end of the table, turning his back on Cas. “I just… I…” His voice was shaking, but he couldn’t stop. ”You’re away, and I-I can’t seem to stop thinking about you. You’re here, and don’t feel any better. I’m sorry, I think I’m losing my friggin’ mind.” He buried his face into his palms.

“Dean.” Cas was standing beside him at once, his voice soft, full of worry and tenderness. Dean forced himself to reveal his teary eyes to the angel that was now standing close, examining his face with those piercingly blue eyes of his. “Dean.” It felt so soothing, so good, to hear Cas saying his name like that. “Do you… do you have feelings for me?”

Dean watched in awe as a faint but unmistakable blush tinged Cas’ cheeks. But the blue eyes stared into his, unwavering, full of feeling. Dean opened his mouth a few times, until he managed to huff out an almost inaudible “Yes”.

Cas’ reaction was probably the most beautiful sight Dean had ever seen. His eyes turned bright, glistening with such unspeakable joy it took Dean’s breath away, and his lips curved into a soft smile that made Dean’s chest flutter.

“Then I don’t need to think anymore”, Cas said. He was _shining_.

Dean reached out and wrapped his arms around Cas, pulling him close, completely out of words. Cas pressed his face into the nook of Dean’s neck, giving out a soft, happy sigh. Dean, on the other had, was holding his breath, as if fearing that breathing could make the moment go away. But as he felt Cas’ soft lips crazing the sensitive skin of his neck, he let out a shaky sigh. He closed his eyes and pressed his nose into Cas’ soft, dark hair.

“Cas, this is crazy”, he whispered. “I’m a human, you’re an angel. This shouldn’t be happening. This isn’t supposed to be happening.” But with every word, he squeezed Cas tighter against his body.

“I don’t care, Dean”, Cas said fervently. His voice was shaking. “I just want to be yours. I want to be yours.”

And at those words, Dean cupped his chin and pressed their lips together. It was a hard, desperate, breath-taking kiss that sent waves of heat through Dean’s veins, making his stomach flutter and legs turn to jelly. He found himself clutching onto Cas, crushing his lips against Cas’ like some horny teenager with his first love. With anyone else, Dean would have been almost embarrassed about himself, but not with Cas. Not with this treasure in his arms who was adapting to his every move and touch, responding so eagerly with his soft lips, like they had done this for a hundred times before. It was the first time, but still, on some other, more spiritual level, they had done this many, many times.

Eventually Dean had to break the kiss to breathe. Still holding Cas close against himself by the waist, he buried his face into the angel’s shoulder, breathing in his scent like it was the first time he was allowed to do so. “Say your mine, Cas”, he said, out of breath. “Say you’re mine.”

“I’m yours, Dean.”

 

*

 

It had been weeks, and it still felt unreal.

They were lying on the hood of his car, far away from the road, on a secluded little meadow, under a starlit sky. Cas was staring at the skies, his serene eyes reflecting the starlight as he lay silently by Dean’s side. Dean, however, was much more awed by Cas than the stars. They had been lying in silence for the better part of an hour, and Dean had never known silence could be this comfortable. Dean had taken Cas stargazing, because after their first kiss in the library, Sam had found them in each other’s arms, and even though it was relatively easy to explain away as a friendly hug, Sam was constantly looking suspicious.

Cas wasn’t even offended that Dean didn’t want to tell Sam. He just understood. He understood that this was huge for Dean, and it would take a while until he was ready to tell anybody.

The idle, peaceful moments floated by, warmth and joy flooding inside of Dean. Suddenly Cas turned and draped an arm around Dean’s waist, resting his head on his chest with a pleased little sigh. Dean automatically wrapped his arms around Cas, holding him as if fearing he might just float away back to Heaven if he didn’t hold onto him tight enough. He gave out a pleased hum as he felt Cas pressing a soft kiss on his chin. He sought out Cas’ lips with his own, kissing them with fervor. A surge of desire shot through his body, blood rushing to his groin. He rolled them over, placing himself on top of Cas, deepening the kiss. He finally broke the kiss, looking deeply into the blue of his eyes. He asked, with his eyes, and there was a “Yes” in Cas’ eyes.

Dean gently undressed Cas, leaving on the white shirt, unbuttoned. He took a long moment to worship Cas’ smooth, warm skin, peppering every inch of his body with hot little kisses. His lips and fingers were everywhere, preparing his angel for him, eliciting little huffs and moans, making Cas squirm in his arms. After some minutes, Dean could only hope Cas was relaxed enough, because he couldn’t take it anymore. He got off the hood of the car, and dropped his own jeans and boxers to his ankles, freeing his painfully hard cock.

The sight of Cas was almost too much for Dean: the angel was lying on his back, leaning on his elbows, his breathing shallow and his cheeks flushed, eyes darkened with lust, watching intently every move Dean made. The air between them was dripping with sweet tension, wordless adoration, pure want. Dean grabbed Cas by the thighs, pulling him to the edge of the hood, bringing their bodies as close as possible. Cas’ legs opened wide, wrapping around Dean’s lower back. Dean gasped as the head of his cock brushed against Cas’ entrance. Cas’ body trembled underneath the touch, his dark blue eyes pleading.

Dean needed no further encouragement. He took a firm hold of Cas’ hips, and slowly pushed inside the pliant, welcoming body. He couldn’t help groaning as he bottomed out in the tight heat, his head falling back, his eyes falling closed. He fucked Cas with slow, deep thrusts, every thrust making Cas moan softly, and the pit of Dean’s stomach churning with wet, heavy warmth, his breathing becoming heavy and uneven. After a moment, his pace became quicker and less controlled. He lost himself into the feeling of becoming one with Cas, and the moaning and gasping from Cas made it clear that the angel did, too.

They both knew it couldn’t go on for long. Soon, Cas tensed up, gasping Dean’s name as he came all over his own chest. Dean followed right after, staring at his angel in awe, then squeezing his eyes shut and letting out a cry of triumph, as he stilled and came inside Cas with one final thrust, collapsing on top of him.

They stayed like this long after, both of them out of breath and overwhelmed. Losing their new level of intimacy seeming like an undesirable option. Dean stayed inside Cas’ pliant body as long as he could, until his softened cock slipped out. He clumsily climbed on the hood of the car, taking Cas into his arms, nuzzling his messy hair. The angel clang to Dean, his body trembling a little.

“You OK?” Dean murmured, stroking Cas’ back gently.

“Yes”, Cas sighed, sounding almost sleepy. “It was just so… intense. I’m feeling… drowsy.”

Dean chuckled gently. “Yeah, it was pretty intense. If you feel like it, you can just go to sleep, baby.”

Dean was a little startled at that word escaping his mouth, but Cas just hummed happily. Soon Cas was snoring softly in his arms, and Dean felt waves of sleep coming over him, too. He fell asleep in Cas’ warmth, smile on his lips.

*

They drove home (Cas still didn’t officially live in the bunker, but Dean thought of it as Cas’ home too) when it was already dawning. Dean turned his head to look at his angel, and found out he had drifted asleep again.

“Cas, we’re home”, he said softly as he turned off the engine in the bunker garage. Cas opened his eyes and gazed sleepily at Dean, looking startled and groggy. Dean chuckled.

“Was it really that exhausting?” he said, smiling. “Should I be proud of myself?”

Cas smiled back at him, humming a sleepy “yes”. Dean stared at him for a moment, feeling waves of warmth in his chest, searching for words for what he was feeling. He realized there were no words.

 

For the first time, Dean took Cas to his bed. They slept in each other’s arms till noon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May look like PWP, but trust me, what they just did is vitally important for the plot... ;)


	2. Symptoms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is something not right with Cas. Dean is worried.

Cas’ new love for sleeping didn’t truly worry Dean until Cas had slept like a log two nights in a row.

“You don’t need to sleep”, he said as he placed a coffee mug in front of the groggy angel.

Cas gazed up, looking a little helpless. “I know”, he said. “I don’t understand it myself. I find sleeping so… easy now. Much easier than when I was human.”

Dean sat down across the table and gave him his long, worried look, then shook his head slowly. “I don’t know, man, it seems pretty damn worrying to me.”

“Don’t worry, Dean”, Cas said, placing a reassuring hand on Dean’s. “It’s nothing dangerous. I’m certain of that.”

“Well, how do you know?” Dean insisted, starting to sound exasperated. “You just said yourself you didn’t understand why you suddenly sleep. Isn’t that at all alarming to you?”

Dean waited, but Cas didn’t seem to come up with anything reassuring to say anymore. He just returned Dean’s stare, looking perplexed and slightly distressed.

Dean gave out an almost angry sigh, taking a sip from his coffee, dropping his gaze at the table and leaving it there. The angel’s gaze fixated on Dean’s coffee mug.

“Can I have some of that?”

Dean looked up, surprised. “Coffee? Sure. Let me get you.”

He got up and went to the counter, returning with a large mug of coffee that Cas gratefully accepted. Dean watched with astonishment as Cas downed the drink in one go.

“Thirsty?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow. “Yes”, Cas replied, licking his lips. “Can I have more?”

“..Sure”, Dean said slowly, his gaze following the angel who got up and went to refill his mug. “But leave some for Sam.”

They sat in silence for a while, the only sound being Cas gulping down his coffee.

“You sure you’re OK?” Dean asked restlessly.

“I _feel_ OK”, Cas replied, blue eyes placid as he placed the mug on the table, reaching out to take Dean’s hand in his freed hand. Dean reveled in the feeling of Cas’ thumb stroking up and down the back of his hand. But it wasn’t enough to soothe him entirely.

“Morning”, Sam greeted as he entered the kitchen, and Dean yanked his hand away. Sam gave the two of them an odd look, but didn’t say anything.

“Isn’t it weird that Cas suddenly sleeps?” Dean said, partly because he felt the need to take Sam’s mind off of the hands, partly because he had to hear what Sam thought of the change in Cas’ behavior.

Sam raised his eyebrows as he poured coffee into his mug.

“You do?” he asked, giving Cas a surprised look, sitting next to Dean at the table.

“Yes”, Cas said with a small sigh. “I don’t know why.”

“Where do you sleep?” Sam said, frowning.

“Um…” Cas turned his confused eyes to Dean whose face was turning red. “One of the bedrooms.”

Sam seemed to buy that reply. At least he kept a straight face. “When did you start sleeping? I mean, do you remember when you slept for the first time?”

Cas gave Dean another helpless look. The hunter was now bright red from his neck to the tip of his ears. He looked at Cas with half-pleading, half-warning look in his eyes.

“I… I don’t remember exactly. A couple of nights ago.” Dean was visibly relieved. He didn’t always seem to count on Cas’ ability to answer questions dishonestly.

Sam nodded, still frowning. “Maybe it’s just something temporal? I mean, you did sleep a few times when the apocalypse was coming, remember?”

“Yes”, Cas agreed. “But that was when Heaven had the old order. They had the power to cut me off, to reduce my power significantly. That is not the case anymore. No one in Heaven could do that to me now.”

A long silence followed. All three of them were absorbed in thought, their faces displaying different levels of worry.

“Well”, Dean said finally with a sigh, “I guess we’ll just have to keep an eye on you.” He attempted an encouraging smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Cas got up and went to the sink, opening the faucet and filling his mug with water. Both Dean and Sam’s gazes followed him, bewildered.

“I don’t want you two worrying about me too much”, he said, giving them a sad smile before bringing the mug to his lips.

“Seriously, what’s with the drinking?” Dean asked, gesturing at Cas’ exasperatedly.

Cas stopped halfway through his drink, lowered the mug slowly, staring at it. Then he lifted his bemused eyes to meet Sam and Dean’s. “I don’t know”, he said. “I’m just... thirsty.”

Sam looked thoughtful, but Dean shook his head again, a resigned look taking over his features.

“There’s something just not right about this.”

*

That night Dean made love to Cas for the second time. His thrusts were fast, desperate, almost angry. His lips were sucking and biting Cas’ skin, whispering incoherent declarations of love into his ear. Cas clang onto Dean, trying to press their bodies as tightly against each other as possible, his rocking hips responding eagerly to Dean’s thrusts. Feeling Dean’s cock starting to throb, accompanied by a low grunt in his ear, he felt the dizzying waves of his own orgasm washing over him. The ecstasy of it was only enforced as he felt the warm liquid releasing inside of him, making him cling onto Dean harder, wanting him deeper, all of him inside him.

Dean pressed a few grateful kisses on Cas’ neck before he rolled over. Cas turned to his side, wrapping an arm around Dean’s torso. They lied like this a long while, exchanging slow, lazy kisses. Cas was starting to doze off when Dean’s voice shook him fully into consciousness.

“This is why I was afraid to let you know.”

Cas lifted his head, squinting at Dean.

“What?”

Dean was quiet for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts, trying to find the right words. “That angel said, some years ago…”, he started in a quiet voice. “That when you first laid a hand on me, you were lost. I think she might have been more right than I realized.”

“What do you mean?” Cas asked, lifting himself up to see Dean’s face. There was something broken about the look on his face. He looked vulnerable, sad. Lost.

“Well, come on, Cas. You fell. For me. That was bad enough for you. And now you’re finally…” Dean took a deep breath, “ _mine_ , and you’re suddenly… sick, or something. I’m not good for you.”

“Dean…”

“But _you_ ”, Dean said, smiling almost bitterly, “you are so good for me. It doesn’t seem fair.”

Cas sighed, bringing his hand to caress Dean’s face, gently tracing his finger along Dean’s jawline.

“First of all, Dean, I am not sick. And even if I was, it would not be your fault. Second of all, I fell of my own free will. I chose you. If I had to choose again, I would choose you. I don’t regret a single thing I did for you.”

Dean had been avoiding his eyes, but as he turned his head to meet them, Cas saw they were glistening with unshed tears.

“Just… just don’t die, OK?” Dean whispered hoarsely.

“I won’t”, Cas said, pressing a kiss on his lips. “I promise.”

He laid his head on Dean’s chest again, edge of sleep creeping up on him quickly. Dean’s hand was moving up and down on his back, until the movement suddenly stopped.

“Cas?”

“Yes, Dean?”

“I was thinking that maybe… maybe you should… stay up tonight.”

“What?” Cas looked up, surprised.

“Just to see if you still can”, Dean explained, his face lined with worry. He ran his hand through Cas’ hair affectionately. “Look, as much as I’d like to keep you in my bed, it’ll calm me down if you still can skip sleeping. Just for tonight. You willing to try?”

Cas sat up, looking thoughtful. “Yes”, he said then, trying to blink the sleep from his eyes. “You’re right. I’m willing to try.”

Dean smiled. “But no watching me sleep. It’s still creepy.” Cas nodded, chuckling a little at the thought of the times he used to do that.

“I’ll go to the library. There are a number of books there I wish to read.”

He got up and wrapped himself in Dean’s grey bathrobe that had been lying crumpled on a chair.

“Can I borrow this?”

Dean’s eyes were shining with affection as he watched his angel draped in his robe.

“Absolutely”, he said, smiling softly.

“Goodnight, Dean.”

“Wait, I don’t get a good night kiss?”

“You’ve had plenty of those tonight”, Cas teased.

“Come one, gimme those lips”, Dean insisted. Cas came over the bed, leaning down, planting a soft kiss on Dean’s lips. Dean didn’t settle for just one: he grabbed the back of Cas’ neck, kissing him again and again.

“OK, you go do your nerdy stuff”, he said then, letting go of Cas. “And don’t fall asleep.”

“I’ll do my best”, Cas said, tucking him into bed. After both of them had muttered their soft ‘goodnights’, the angel left the room.

*

Cas made his way to the library, piling some of the old, mysterious books in front of him on the table, and started reading. This was actually quite nice: to be enveloped by the peacefulness of the night, the feeling of being the only one awake in the silence. As much as he loved to spend time with Dean, and Sam too, he also liked to be alone from time to time. He enjoyed being absorbed in thoughts and books, and all the memories from millennia ago. Long, solitary nights were perfect for all that. He devoured the first few hundred pages of the first book in less than an hour. It was about demons, written in the 17th century. There wasn’t much he didn’t already know, but he found it intriguing nonetheless. He loved the language the author used: it was solemn and dramatic, and conveyed a picture of a man who had dedicated his entire life to destroying demons. Cas smiled to himself a little. He could see himself in that man. The old him, anyway. Not so long ago, the sole purpose of his life had been destroying evil. He had been programmed to smite demons. Then he had met Dean, and did something unheard-of among angels: he fell in love. And the man he loved had only recently been a demon himself. Cas closed the book, almost laughing to himself. He might have something in common with the author, but much less these days than before.

He sat in the silence, enjoying the peace, the love welling up inside of him, the certainty of Dean’s safety in his bed only a couple of corridors away from him. He liked the library. There was a sense of serenity about it, the smell of old books filling up the air, all the shelves and tables neat and orderly. To him, it was a place that could have been described with the word 'cosy'. There was a bowl of candy on the table next to Cas, most likely brought there by Sam in attempt to motivate Dean to spend more time on research. Dean was intelligent and liked learning, but he often neglected the books in favor of more direct action. Out of curiosity, Cas reached out and took one confection wrapped in golden paper, unwrapping it and putting in his mouth, focusing on its taste.

It tasted like molecules, like everything did to an angel, but there was something pleasurable about the piece of food in his mouth. It was amazingly satisfying. He ate another, and a third one. Soon he had emptied the entire bowl, and there was an odd feeling growing inside of him. He suddenly felt like he was starving. Like he had been for some time, but had only become aware of it now. There was a sudden and inexplicable hunger in the depths of his being - growing, spreading, invading all of him. It was fierce, demanding, relentless.

He got up and headed for the kitchen, hurrying his steps, not fully aware of what he was doing. He opened the fridge in a trance-like state, grabbing the first item he saw. It was a packet of sliced ham. He ate all of it. He wasn’t thinking why – all he knew at that moment was that he needed to relieve the hunger that was gnawing at his entire body. It was a painful sensation he had to get rid of. He consumed another packet of ham, then finished off a jar of pickles. Then he moved on to a slice of chocolate cake, then a loaf of cheese. But it wasn’t enough. He took a plate of foil-wrapped pork ribs Dean had prepared the night before, a container with a couple of slices of old pizza, and grabbed an unopened jar of peanut butter from the counter. He sat down at the table, and ate all of the food at an amazing rate.

Slowly he felt the hunger subsiding, leaving him in an almost blissful state of satisfaction. It worked like a sleeping pill. His eyelids were suddenly heavy, his head sinking against the table.

 

*

“What the hell, Cas?!”

The alarmed voice pierced through Cas’ dreamless sleep, pulling him into full consciousness. The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was Dean standing in front of him, his shocked stare wandering between Cas and the empty food containers on the table.

“I… I am sorry, Dean”, he muttered. “I did fall asleep. I tried not to but-”

“Never mind the sleeping – what is this?” Dean asked impatiently, gesturing at the table. Cas sighed, feeling incredibly tired, even though he had apparently slept for hours.

“I don’t know”, he admitted after a long silence. “I felt hungry and… I couldn’t stop myself.”

Dean took a deep breath, taking a seat next to Cas. He closed his eyes, evidently trying not to break down.

“You can’t say this is anywhere near normal”, he said then, quietly. Cas was silent. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Dean’s voice was louder, full of distress. The look in his eyes made Cas’ chest ache.

“I don’t know, Dean”, Cas repeated. “I seem to have… changed. But I’m sure it’s nothing to be anxious about”, he hurried to add. “I feel fine.”

“Did Metadouche poison your grace or something?” Dean asked, as if he wasn’t listening. “Come on, buddy, it’s like you were turning human again! Or worse.”

“No, Dean”, Cas said, calmly. “My grace is fine. I can feel it. It’s strong. Clean. Intact.”

“So... you’re an angel who just happens to eat and sleep?” Dean looked a little calmer now, but his brow was still furrowed in disbelief.

“It appears so”, Cas replied, frowning too.

Dean examined Cas’ face, his expression softening slowly. “You hungry right now?” he asked, taking Cas’ hand.

Cas hesitated. He felt the strange gnawing in his gut, still feeble, but growing.

“Yes.”

“I’d make you something but I’m afraid you've exhausted our supplies”, Dean said, almost smiling now. “Come on, put some clothes on. We’re gonna do some shopping. If you’re gonna eat, I might as well feed you properly.”

*

Dean raised his eyebrows as Cas placed four packages of truffles and three tubes of cookie dough into the shopping cart.

“Really?”

“You said I could pick anything I liked”, Cas said defensively. Dean chuckled. “Yeah. Yeah, I did. But I gotta tell ya, you eat even unhealthier than I do.” His smile involuntarily broadened as he saw Cas practically pouting. _Gosh he’s cute._

“I wish I craved for healthier foods, Dean. But this I what I need. I can’t explain it. I just-“

“OK, OK”, Dean laughed, patting Cas’ shoulder. “You have a sweet tooth, I get it.”

“Peanut butter”, Cas said abruptly. “We have to buy peanut butter.”

He disappeared in one of the aisles, leaving Dean chuckling to himself. Cas seemed to be mostly fine. He clearly wasn’t in pain, nor was there anything wrong with his mental state. The eating and sleeping, maybe that really _was_ harmless. He wanted to believe so. Maybe it was just something that happened to angels after they were… physically involved with humans. A dreamy smile took over Dean’s face as his mind made a short montage of their love-making. It was amazing - how for the first time Dean felt as if he actually became one with the person he was making love to. There was this amazing deepness, overwhelming wholeness about it all. He felt like while he was penetrating Cas’ body, he was penetrating his soul as well. He knew angels weren’t technically supposed to have souls, but he was absolutely convinced Cas had one. Cas’ soul was colors, it was tenderness and passion, it was endless and magnificent. Dean realized he couldn’t really draw a line between the physical Cas and his angelic soul: he loved them both equally, and when he had sex with Cas, he had sex with all of him, not just with his physical being. That was something Dean had never, ever experienced before. It still felt unreal to even think about.

“OK, that’s enough, foodie”, he laughed as Cas returned with an armful of peanut butter jars.

“Don’t laugh, Dean”, Cas said. Dean laughed even more, and reached out to pet Cas’ cheek. But before his hand touched Cas’ face, it stopped in the middle of the movement. There was a middle-aged couple standing nearby, glancing curiously towards Dean and Cas. Dean was suddenly very aware of the fact that he was going to make a public display of affection towards someone who at least to some major extent was – a guy. He dropped his hand: his gaze fell, his smile faded.

“Come on, let’s go”, he said, heading towards the checkout. Cas followed, his eyes fixated on Dean’s back, sadness creeping onto his face.

*

In the car, however, Dean made it up by placing his hand on Cas’ thigh, caressing it for most of the drive.

Back in the bunker, Dean made them pancakes, with whipped cream, chocolate sauce and strawberries. It was great, especially when Dean purposely kept getting his fingers smeared in the whipped cream, only to have Cas lick them clean for him. The third time it happened, Cas was only barely quick enough draw back before Sam entered the room.

“Morning guys”, he said casually. If he had seen something, he was definitely good at hiding it. “Where have you been?”

“Grocery shopping”, Dean said, mouth full of pancakes, his face slightly red at the sensation of Cas lips and tongue on his finger only some seconds ago. “Turns out Cas eats now.”

Sam raised his eyebrows. “Does that have something to do with the sleeping?”

Cas shrugged, licking some cream off of his lips. (Dean noticed he was staring, and forced himself to look away.)

“I don’t know. I guess the two may be correlated”, Cas admitted.

“We gotta do some research on that”, Sam said thoughtfully. “I haven’t found us a new case yet, so why not make Cas our case?” He smiled encouragingly.

“Sounds good to me”, Dean agreed.

Cas nodded. “Thank you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those two are so gross...  
> Also, isn't it amusing how they have no idea what's going on?


	3. Finding Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for some Sam & Cas brothers-in-law bonding time. Sam makes a discovery that will turn Cas' world upside down.

The following afternoon, Cas woke up from a long nap. He made a delicious full-body stretch and snuggled into the memory foam mattress, cuddling Dean’s pillow for lack of Dean himself. He wished he could have stayed like that until Dean came to bed, feel Dean’s weight on him, lose himself into the rhythm of their lovemaking, and then sleep more, surrender again to this blissful languor. But he knew the others probably needed his help with the research.

Reluctantly, he got up, draped himself in Dean’s robe and put on a pair of slippers. He padded into the library, where Sam was sitting at one of the tables, surrounded by piles of books.

“Hello, Sam”, Cas said, stifling a yawn.

Sam looked up from the book he was reading. His face was pale, his eyes wide, his mouth gaping open. His gaze seemed to wander for a second, until it fixated on Cas, the look on his face turning even more stunned.

“Sam? What’s wrong?”

“I… I think I found something.”

Cas felt a surge of gut-wrenching fear, fully awake and alert now. He could feel cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He had frozen in the middle of the library, almost reluctant to learn what it was that had shocked Sam this way. What if he was dying? Was that the angelic punishment for sleeping with a human?

“What is it?” His voice sounded strained and small in his own ears.

Sam glanced at the doorway behind Cas. “Where’s Dean?”

“In the garage. He said he needed to fix some cars”, Cas said absent-mindedly, distracted by Sam’s expression that had now changed from shock more towards concern and - what was that? Discomfort?

“OK, uh, Cas”, Sam began then, “sit down.” He gestured at the chair opposite to him. Cas followed his request. It was indeed a good idea to sit down for his legs felt suddenly shaky.

“This is going to be really awkward”, Sam said then, running a hair through his hair, “but I have to ask. Have you slept with Dean?”

Cas was taken aback. He shifted uncomfortably on his seat, trying to force himself to utter the word ‘No’. But he found it harder and harder by the second, and he knew his silence had given the truth away.

“How did you know?” he said quietly, looking down and fidgeting with a sleeve of his robe. He was suddenly very aware of a blush that was no doubt rising to his face.

“Call it a good guess”, Sam said awkwardly. “And”, he added, huffing a small laugh, “the rooms in the bunker aren’t exactly sound-proof. Also, you’re wearing his robe.”

Cas stopped playing with the sleeve, staring down at the robe in shocked realization.

“It’s OK”, Sam hurried to say. “I know he probably doesn’t want me to know. I won’t let him know that I know, if you think that’s for the best.”

Cas forced himself to look up and face Sam’s gaze. “The relationship between your brother and I has become more physical recently”, he said as matter-of-factly as he could, only to realize his explanation had only made Sam look even more uncomfortable. “But what does that have to do with my… symptoms?”

Sam seemed to take a moment to sort out his thoughts. He frowned and glanced at the open book under his nose.

“Cas, you know what a Nephilim is, right?”

“Of course”, Cas confirmed, his confusion increasing. “The offspring of the sons of God and daughters of men.”

“Um, yeah, except…” Sam began, staring at the page for a moment as if double-checking what he had just read, “there appears to be a subclass of Nephilim. The lore has it that “a seraph can be impregnated by a son of Adam.”” Sam read (or rather, translated from Latin) in a calm voice, but his astonishment was evident. “The embryos will feed on the seraph’s grace, causing the seraph experience severe fatigue and an extreme craving for nutrition.” Sam emphasized the last words, looking at Cas in disbelief. “That’s why you eat and sleep so much all of a sudden! It’s like this compensatory mechanism. Your grace is momentarily drained because of the… _babies_!” Sam’s voice had turned excited now, his lips pulling into an almost awed smile. "I know it's crazy, but... Cas, I think you're _pregnant_."

Cas could only stare. His entire existence suddenly felt unreal, absurd.

“But… I’m…” he stuttered, “my vessel is male.”

“According to the book, it doesn’t matter.”

That made sense. The thought hadn’t even crossed Cas’ mind until now. An angel didn’t have a sex like a human did. Only the grace, and it was apparently capable of all kinds of unthinkable things. It suddenly made even more sense why the other angels had been so concerned about his bond with Dean right from the start.

“Wait”, Cas said, his eyes darting at Sam, widened in horror. “Did you say… _babies_?”

“Yeah”, Sam said, laughing nervously. “It says here that the seraph will… “lay a clutch of two to eight eggs”.” He raised his eyebrows. “What I gather from here is the eggs are more like shields of grace, protecting the embryos…”

Sam’s voice faded away. His lips moved but Cas couldn’t understand a word from the utter panic rising inside of him.

Eggs?! _Eight?!_

Cas grabbed the book, pulling it across the table and examining the page feverishly. He almost hoped this was just some kind of questionable joke Sam was trying to pull on him. But there it all was, in black and white on an old yellow paper. Somehow seeing the words right there with his own eyes was even more terrifying than hearing it from Sam. Cas shook his head, slowly pushing the book away. He felt like he wasn’t capable of seeing any more of it. He placed a hand on his stomach, suddenly feeling nauseous. Was there really… _eggs_ in there? Could it really be that he was carrying Dean’s children?

“I didn’t know about this”, he muttered to himself. _How could he not have known this?_

Sam gave him a sympathetic look. “Well, I didn’t either. This book is one of its kind, really rare and pretty hard to interpret. It’s not like this is common knowledge. These things don’t exactly happen every day… or every millennia.”

“I should have known”, Cas said, suddenly angry at himself. “I’m an angel. It is my responsibility to know these things.”

“Well, Cas, I think these things are kind of a taboo among angels”, Sam said thoughtfully. “You shouldn’t feel bad about not knowing.”

“Eight”, Cas muttered. “What if I have eight babies?” He stood up, staggering on his feet, breathing heavily.

Sam cast him a worried look. “Well, that’s possible, but… for all we know, you could have just twins.” Realizing how not-comforting his words must have sounded to Cas, he fell silent, staring helplessly at the open page.

_“What will Dean say?”_

“Cas, listen.” Sam’s voice was calming, full of sympathy. “He will freak out, no doubt. You know how he is. But he’ll come 'round. I’m sure he will. And it’s not like you have to tell him today. The most important things is you make a little time for yourself, you know, to let it all sink in. You don’t have to tell him until you’re ready.”

Cas nodded, only partly registering Sam’s words. “Dean isn’t even ready to show me affection in public”, Cas said, shaking his head slowly. “There’s no way he’s ready for this.”

Sam gave out a sigh and shrugged. He seemed to say “That’s Dean for you”.

Cas could only stand there in the middle of the library, helpless.

“But really, Cas”, Sam said, standing up and walking to him. “Right now you should be concentrating on yourself, on how you feel. How do _you_ feel?”

Cas knew he looked pitiful for an angel, his eyes wide in fear, face white, draped in a too big robe, his hand still on his stomach.

“I’m scared, Sam.”

Sam wrapped his arms around Cas, giving him a long and tight hug. Cas let himself relax into his embrace, tears filling his eyes.

“It’s gonna be OK”, Sam said, pulling back. “We’ve been through crazier stuff.”

Cas shook his head, blinking the tears from his eyes. “No, we have not.”

Sam chuckled a little, giving Cas a pat on the shoulder. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But I gotta say, I’m quite happy to be an uncle. And I’m here for you, if you need anything.”

Sam’s smile warmed something inside Cas, making his initial panic wane a little. “Thank you, Sam.”

“No problem, Cas. Maybe you should sit down for a while, you know, take it easy”, he said, as he noticed Cas’s hands were shaking. “I’ll bring you some tea.”

Sam headed towards the door, as Cas pulled out a chair for himself at the table.

“Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t tell Dean.”

Sam raised his hands. “I promise I won’t. It’s really none of my business. You tell whenever you feel like it.”

Cas thanked him again. Reluctantly, he picked up the book that had shocked the both of them so greatly that day.

*

Cas sat in the library all evening. The sugary tea and the plateful of muffins Sam had brought him were soon gone, but he couldn’t stop rereading the page that explained it all. Well, in fact it didn’t give him much information. It didn’t tell him when he was due, how long it would take for the eggs to hatch, or what kind of creatures the babies, this subclass of Nephilim previously unknown to him, would be. The book was indeed vague and left a lot of things open for interpretation. Still, it didn’t have any incorrect information: it nicely covered the majority of the angel lore. Cas decided that he trusted the book, but all he had to go by was the knowledge that he would lay a bunch of eggs in the near future and that he needed to eat and sleep until then. It also informed him that his grace would create a temporary birthing canal when it was time, but it failed to mention how painful it would be. He realized this was the only birth coaching he was going to get. He sighed, closed the book and stared at the smiling angel on the cover. The picture made him almost angry, and he turned the book on its other, blank cover.

“Hey.”

Cas looked up. Dean was standing on the doorway. There was a smile on his lips but worry in his eyes. He was wearing pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, and his hair was damp from a shower. Seeing Dean gave Cas a sudden rush of joy, but it quickly disappeared as fear and guilt took its place.

“You coming to bed?”

Cas glanced at the clock on the wall. He was surprised to see it was already past eleven.

“Soon”, he said, attempting a smile. Dean walked up to him and stood behind his chair.

“Any progress with the research?”

Cas hesitated. “No. Nothing new today”, he lied.

Dean pressed a kiss to his hair, then nuzzled the back of his neck.

“You’ve been here all evening”, he murmured. “Kinda missed you.”

Cas hummed, closing his eyes. He tried to relax into Dean’s touch, but somehow he felt increasingly tense. Dean’s kisses became more and more heated as he kissed along Cas’ neck.

“Maybe we should make up for the lost time”, he growled in between the kisses.

“Dean”, Cas said, uncomfortable. “I’m… I’m not in the mood.”

Dean stopped, leaning in to get a proper look of his face. Cas forced himself look calm and collected as he met Dean’s gaze. There was a brief hurt look flashing through Dean’s green eyes, but locking with Cas’, they softened.

“OK”, he said. “You sleepy?”

“Yes”, Cas admitted, giving Dean a tired smile. Dean returned it.

“I’m whacked, too. Come on, let’s hit the hay, then.”

Cas hesitated. He felt like he desperately needed some more time alone. He definitely still hadn’t processed everything he had learned that day.

“I’ll just take a shower first”, he said then.

*

Cas let the warm water wash over his body, the feeling delightfully comforting, the scent of shower gel fresh and invigorating in his nose. He wondered how he hadn’t missed this. Long showers with hot water, good water pressure and lots of fragrant shower gel were some of the best memories of his brief time as a human. He was falling in love with showering again, momentarily almost forgetting about his… “problem”. At the back of his mind, a decision had formed. He wouldn’t tell Dean that night. There was no need to hurry. Like Sam had said, the most important thing was that Cas could come to terms with his pregnancy first, without having to deal with Dean’s reaction. Whatever that might be.

He started as his hand brushed over his abdomen, stopping there.

His stomach felt… different. It was slightly swollen and the skin felt tight there. The change wasn’t visible, but definitely there as he pressed his hand against his stomach. Could it happen so quickly? He could swear he hadn’t felt anything earlier that day.

He swallowed hard, slowly rubbing his stomach, not sure if in an attempt to calm himself down or to fully realize that there really was something evolving inside him. He sighed as he turned off the shower, draping himself in a towel.

He would have to tell Dean soon.

But not tonight.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a feeling Sam will be the best uncle ever. ;w;


	4. Ice Cream And Disappointments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas is trying to break the news to Dean. It turns out to be even harder than he imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, guys! This week has been the last busy week at uni, so from now on I'll have more time to write. Yay! :)

Chapter 4

Cas got up early next morning. Dean had already been asleep when he had climbed into the bed, and Cas also decided to leave the bed before he woke up. Dean was a big cuddler, and Cas didn’t want him to find out by feeling his slightly grown stomach. There had to be a better way of letting him know. Cas wanted to explain everything first, slowly and carefully.

Not that he could understand it all himself. It still felt unreal and filled him with feelings he had never known before. He, an angel with a male body, was carrying a human’s offspring. The said offspring was shielded by shells of grace, and would no doubt soon leave his body. There was going to be several eggs that were to develop into babies that weren’t quite human, nor quite angel. No matter how many times he kept going over all this in his head, it seemed utterly unbelievable. He sighed as he poured cocoa into his mug in the empty kitchen. He felt like there was no way of explaining everything to Dean without the hunter freaking out at the first words that came out of his mouth.

He took a seat, deep in thought. The whole matter of the eggs would seem more than baffling to Dean, no doubt of that. But it made perfect sense to Cas now that he thought of it. His state was weakened: the pregnancy was only possible because the embryos used his grace, and while using it they made him undoubtedly more human. It was only appropriate for them to leave his vessel as soon as possible and continue developing outside his body until they were ready to hatch. It wasn’t adaptive for an angel, a warrior of God by design, to suffer from this debilitated state for long. Just like it was easier for a bird to fly without developing fetuses inside her, it was easier for an angel in a similar way. _Clever, Father_ , Cas thought to himself, a small smile tugging up his lips, as he thought of His Plan For Everything. The Plan that seemed so mysterious, so obscure - and so incredibly creative.

“You wouldn’t have made angels like this if you didn’t want this to happen?” he said into the silence of the kitchen. “You wouldn’t have made _me_ like this. You loved… love, humans. You want us, your sons and daughters, to love them as well, don’t you? Even if means loving them in the way I love Dean…” Of course, there was no answer. But there was a growing certainty in Cas’ mind that this was all meant to be, and that all was going to be well. He felt a warm surge of happiness and peace spreading through him.

And there it was. If this wasn’t an answer, a sign, he didn’t know what would be.

A small, feeble tug inside of him, right there in the pit of his stomach. He gasped and placed a hand on his abdomen. He couldn’t feel it anymore, but he knew at once what it had been.

A small surge of energy. And it wasn’t _his_ energy. It was separate, independent energy, unknown to him, but at the same time, so very familiar. And it had been in response to his happiness, the life growing inside him joining in his joy.

Cas was still smiling when Sam entered the room.

“Hey, Cas”, Sam said. “How you feeling? You look a lot happier than yesterday.”

“I am happy, Sam”, Cas said simply.

“You gonna tell Dean today?”

“That’s my intention, yes.”

“If he doesn’t, you know”, Sam said, walking to the fridge, “ _react well_ , just… don’t be too gutted, OK?”

“How badly do you think he’ll react?” Cas felt compelled to ask, worry clouding his happiness again.

Sam shrugged as he took a seat opposite to Cas.

“At first? Really bad. You know. _Dean bad_. Predictably bad.”

Cas sighed. “I will be prepared for that.”

“But once he’s processed it… I’m sure he’ll be happy”, Sam said, giving Cas a smile over his glass of orange juice.

Cas smiled back.

“Morning guys”, Dean called out as he walked in. His gaze rested on Cas for a long while, then darted at Sam, his mouth opening and closing as he seemed to be trying to choose his words carefully.

“You’re up early”, he said then to Cas, dropping his gaze and walking to the coffeemaker, turning his back on Cas and Sam.

“I woke up early and couldn’t fall back to sleep”, Cas said. That wasn’t exactly true. He felt extra sleepy, and knew he’d be needing a nap in a few hours. The babies were really making him tired.

The breakfast was spent in idle chatter, Dean and Sam exchanging some comments about their last case a couple of weeks back, Cas mostly staying silent.

Some minutes later, when Dean had finished his cereals and coffee, he got up and said:

“You know what, guys, why don’t we have a day off? Drop all research for a moment. Get a bit of fresh air. Drive around, stop somewhere to get some ice cream.”

Sam lifted his gaze from his laptop he had just opened. He gave Cas a quick, meaningful look. “Um, I don’t really feel up to it. I’d rather stay in today. But you two go ahead.”

Dean raised an eyebrow at his brother, but then turned to Cas.

“You wanna go with me?”

“Yes, Dean”, Cas said. “I’d like that.” He adored the way Dean’s eyes always seemed to fill with affection as he looked at him. The fact that Dean probably was unaware of how he looked in those moments made it all the more beautiful.

“Great”, Dean said with a grin.

Cas got up too, placed hands on Dean’s shoulders (Dean’s eyes went wide), leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before heading towards the doorway.

Dean blushed fiercely.

“ _What the hell, Cas?!”_ he barked, his eyes darting between Sam and Cas, unsure whether to glare at the angel or his brother who was giggling hysterically at the table.

“Sam knows”, Cas said simply before disappearing to the corridor.

Dean gave Sam one last death glare, before following Cas, head bowed, face flushed.

*

“You told Sam about us?” Dean asked in the car after a tense silence. They were already miles away from the bunker, and these were the first words spoken.

“He figured it out himself”, Cas said.

“Oh, OK”, Dean said. “That’s just… awesome.” He flashed a sarcastic grin.

Cas tilted his head and gave Dean a puzzled look. The hunter was visibly tense, his hands squeezing the steering wheel harder than necessary, his shoulders bunched underneath the black jacket. He was radiating such anger and insecurity that it made Cas’ feel sad.

Dean glanced at him. “Oh, don’t give me those big, sad puppy eyes. I’m not mad at you.” His tone was tenderer now. “I just… I would have told him. I would.”

“I know, Dean”, Cas said gently. “I’m sorry he didn’t get to hear it from you.”

“Dammit, I don’t need to feel like a fucking joke”, Dean snapped, gritting his teeth, and Cas was sure he would have kicked something if he hadn’t been driving. But he saw now that Dean’s anger was directed completely at himself, not Cas.

“Why would you feel like a joke?” Cas asked.

Dean sighed and fell silent for a moment. “Because I’m like _this_.” Cas squinted at him. “Avoiding chick-flick moments. Hiding. Pretending I’m…” He fell silent again, and Cas could see him swallowing hard, clenching his jaw. “I haven’t come to grips with who I am. I still haven’t, isn’t that sad? I’m thirty-seven, for crying out loud.”

“Dean, this _is_ an open talk.” Cas smiled at him gently. “And I think you’re doing fine. You’re improving. It is not easy to talk about things you have hidden for so many years. I’m proud of you.”

Dean smiled, blinking his eyes wildly. Cas realized he was almost in tears.

“Thank you.” Dean squeezed his thigh briefly. “I wish it could always be like this, with everyone”, he said after a moment, tender smile playing on his lips. “With you it’s just so easy. But it’s… with Sam, with strangers… I just get uncomfortable.”

Cas felt an overwhelming need to help Dean relax, to ease his anxiety, to make him feel cherished and adored. He put his hand on Dean’s thigh, rubbing it up and down. The hunter glanced at him, surprised. “Dean, you are doing so well. I want to reward you”, Cas said, looking at him through his lashes.

Dean cleared his throat. He was visibly blushing. “Um, what?”

“I want you to pull over somewhere secluded, Dean.”

Dean blinked at him, his cheeks turning deeper shade of red. Then his lips curved into an almost bashful smile. He took the first turn into a small country road.

*

Before Dean had even managed to park the Impala on an appropriate spot they had found, Cas was already opening his belt and unzipping his jeans. He ran his finger along the outline of Dean’s already half-hard dick that was starting to bulge against the fabric of his boxers.

“Jesus, Cas…” Dean huffed, turning off the motor, staring at Cas in awe.

With no hesitation, Cas pulled out Dean’s cock, stroking it a few times, eliciting a low moan from Dean. He sank down, teasingly tickling the tip with his tongue. The soft, hot wetness made Dean moan louder, his eyes falling closed. Cas gripped the base of his cock firmly, giving the tip a few tentative licks, before he wrapped his soft lips around it, sucking lightly.

Dean grunted, his hips involuntarily bucking upwards. His right hand sank into Cas’ hair, tugging it lightly. Cas took him deeper, rolling his tongue around the shaft, making it slick and wet. He sucked a little harder, taking Dean deeper and deeper, until he had practically swallowed all of his length.

“Oh, Cas…” Dean moaned, his whole body jerking with pleasure, his hand pulling Cas’ hair harder now. Cas bobbed back up, only to suck down again, up again, down again, the suction and pressure of his mouth making Dean squirm on his seat. He hummed softly against Dean’s cock, and gave out wet little gasps every time he bobbed up, spit and precome wetting his swollen lips. As he stopped to swirl his tongue around the tip, he glanced up at Dean. Dean’s eyes were hooded, his cheeks flushed, his lips parted. As their gazes met, he gave out a load moan, closing his eyes, the sight clearly being too much for him. Cas felt Dean’s cock twitching in his mouth as the hunter’s breathing grew ragged, his hips jerking up. Cas wrapped his lips tightly around him, sucking feverishly, and within seconds, felt the first pulse of hot come filling his mouth. It was followed by several others, accompanied by low, strangled grunts from Dean, and Cas tried his best to swallow all of it.

Dean flopped against his seat, panting heavily. Cas made sure to lick him clean before releasing his softening cock, drawing back to his own seat, a trickle of come running down his chin.

“Wow”, Dean said, staring at Cas, out of breath.

“Do you feel any better?” Cas asked innocently, wiping his mouth with a tissue.

“Do I…” Dean huffed, barely able to form words. “Cas. That… was the best head I’ve ever gotten.”

Cas beamed at him.

*

Half an hour later, Cas was sitting on a park bench while Dean was getting them ice cream from the parlor. It was a very warm day, the July sun blazing down, but a soft breeze provided a pleasant contrast. Cas had left his coat in the bunker and rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. He felt a little insecure without the coat. It was excellent for covering his rapidly growing belly. He felt like the bump was bigger already than last night, and he was glad his shirt was quite loose on him, too. Not that it really mattered, for he was to tell Dean today, anyway.

The late morning was a peaceful one. Some teenagers had laid out a picnic on the grass, a couple of young families and senior citizens idly walking by. Cas’ gaze fixed on a small boy in a Batman t-shirt who was toddling alongside of his mother, trying to help her push the stroller even though he couldn’t quite reach the handles. Cas smiled.

“Here you go.” Dean sat down beside him, offering him an ice cream cone and one the warmest smiles Cas had ever seen on his face. Cas took the ice cream and smiled back.

“It’s peanut butter”, Dean said, nodding at the cone in Cas’ hand. “You seem to like that.”

“What about you, Dean? What do you like?” Cas asked.

“Butter pecan”, Dean said, holding up his ice cream. Then he smirked, a certain sparkle in his eye. “Blowjobs. You.”

Cas felt himself blushing. He could only smile at Dean bashfully, taking a lick of his ice cream. The sweet coolness on his tongue was a perfect complement for the warmth of the sun on his skin and hair. Dean couldn’t seem to get his eyes off of him. Cas watched, curious, as he held out his hand towards Cas’ hair, but let then it fall.

“You’ve got a flower on your hair.”

Cas glanced up. Branches of a cherry blossom tree were swaying in the wind above him.

“Was gonna pluck it off, but it kinda suits you”, Dean said, chuckling. The way he was looking at him made Cas’ heart flutter. “You’ve any idea how beautiful you are?” Dean’s smile was downright dreamy. “Cas… you’re _glowing.”_

Cas blushed even deeper. He realized that was a compliment many pregnant women got. He felt his heart pounding a little harder in his chest. Maybe this was the right moment…

He studied Dean for some seconds. The hunter seemed considerably more relaxed now, thanks to Cas’ little treatment. Now that he was in a better mood, breaking the news might be easier.

He was just opening his mouth when he saw Dean smiling and waving at someone, and followed his gaze. It was the little boy in a Batman t-shirt, waving joyfully at both of them as he toddled across the grass towards his mom, dad and sister sitting on one of the benches.

“You like children, don’t you?” Cas said nervously. He couldn’t stop his voice from quivering slightly.

“I do”, Dean said. “But I sure as hell am glad I don’t have any.”

Cas felt his heart sink. “What?”

Dean gave him a surprised look. “Well, the hunter life… obviously not really for raising kids. I get that now.”

“I thought you wanted kids.” Despite the hot day, Cas suddenly felt cold.

Dean shook his head. “I don’t. Not anymore. Couldn’t forgive myself for bringing any innocent kids into this mess of a life. It’s hard enough for me, what about them?” He sighed. “Besides, I’m happy with how things are right now. I don’t need anything else. I don’t _want_ anything else. I’ve got you now. And it’s so good to know that with you the whole kid things won’t ever even be an issue”, he added with a smile.

Cas suddenly felt queasy, his ice cream melting in his hand. It was a good thing he was sitting down, because he felt like the ground had dropped out underneath his feet.

“You OK?” Dean asked when Cas had sat silent and petrified for a moment.

Cas tried to pull himself together.

“Yes”, he said, his voice still shaking. He hoped Dean didn’t notice. “I’m just… not hungry.”

Dean made a surprised noise.

“You? Not hungry? I guess I can finish that then”, he said, taking the cone from Cas. “You _are_ getting better”, he added with a grin.

Cas had to look away.

*

They returned to the bunker in the afternoon. Cas headed straight for Dean’s bedroom. Dean followed. As soon as the door was closed behind them, he attempted to wrap his arms around Cas, but the angel dodged, squirming away from his touch.

“Cas? What’s wrong?” Dean’s voice was worried, but Cas could detect an offended tone in it as well.

“Nothing, Dean”, he said quickly. “I just need to sleep.”

He sat on the bed, pulling up the covers. Dean stared at him helplessly.

“What, I’m not allowed to touch you anymore?”

“I’m just really tired right now, Dean”, Cas said firmly. He felt the prick of tears behind his eyelids, and quickly turned away, slipping under the blanket.

Dean stood there for a moment, clearly unable to decide what to do.

“OK”, he said then. He sounded more sad than angry. “I’ll check on you in a couple of hours.”

Hearing the door close, Cas let the tears come.

_He would ruin Dean’s life._

Cas had always thought of Dean as father material: the way he had practically raised Sam, the way he had been with Claire, the natural, gentle way he acted around children… But now he knew that having kids was something that would make Dean unhappy rather than happy. An unplanned pregnancy would come as a shock even if Dean wanted kids – but now? Cas was convinced that it would make Dean hate him. Dean would never look at him the same again. Not with those tender, adoring eyes. He would look at Cas and see someone who forced him to change his life when he wasn’t willing to change it. Dean wanted Cas. He didn't want _them_.

He buried his face into the pillow, wetting it with tears.

And then, he felt it again.

The little tug somewhere deep inside him. It was stronger now. Like a little kick. But the energy wasn’t happy this time. It was restless and worried. Cas realized the babies were alarmed by his unhappiness. His crying ceased.

“I’m sorry”, he said softly, placing a hand on his stomach. “I didn’t mean to cause you distress.”

He felt the energy buzzing inside of him, his babies responding to his words. His eyes filled with tears again, but this time he smiled.

_They were comforting him._

It was like little waves of warmth going through him, wordlessly telling him to calm down. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He could sense them more clearly than before. He couldn’t tell them apart or how many of them there were: they were more like a clutch of energy bubbles inside of him, not completely detached from his grace. But they were there. The tiny beings had formed a connection with him. It was still a weak and limited connection, but he felt them.

And he loved them. And they loved him.

He fell asleep, comforted by the love welling inside of him.


	5. Small Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Dean go on a hunt. Cas stays in the bunker, alone but not-so-alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed writing this chapter so much it's crazy. Hope you enjoy it too!

When Cas woke up, the first thing he saw was Dean smiling down at him.

“Morning, beautiful.”

Cas started up, leaning on his elbows. “Morning?” he muttered, squinting at Dean.

Dean chuckled. “Just kidding. You’ve only slept for about an hour. Man, you were really out, weren’t you?”

Cas couldn’t believe it. He felt like he had slept for days. He recalled faint glimpses of places he hadn’t seen for thousands of years, memories of feelings he had felt before he even knew what feelings were. He had been dreaming. He had never dreamed as an angel before.

He stared at Dean in a daze. Dean looked like a distant vision too.

“Listen, me and Sam are gonna go gank a ghost in Colorado”, Dean said. “Pretty much a routine case, will probably be back tomorrow evening. You gonna be OK?”

Cas nodded slowly. “Yes. Don’t worry.” He smiled tiredly.

“Promise you will call if anything, and I mean anything, comes up, OK?” Dean said, worry hovering around his eyes.

“Dean, I’ll be fine”, Cas said, sinking back on the bed. “I just need to sleep…”

He felt waves of sleep coming over him, his eyes falling closed, his consciousness quickly dimming. The last thing he registered was Dean’s hand caressing his hair.

*

The hunt went smoothly. By midnight, the brothers had salted and burned the body, sending the ghost to peace and guaranteeing the safety of a family who had almost lost all of their children that day. The next day, Sam and Dean visited the family to make sure they were OK.

“A ghost”, Ella, the young mother of the family said, shaking her head as he poured coffee into their cups. She was visibly shaken, but there was an air of profound relief and gratitude about her. Her smile was genuine and warm as she looked at both of them with admiration. “For so long, I believed I was losing my mind.”

Sam smiled at her. “That’s a common interpretation. But yeah, ghosts exist. As much as that sucks. Thanks”, he said, taking the cup she was offering.

Ella sighed, staring at her own coffee but not touching it. “How am I going to tell my children what was after them?”

Dean spoke before Sam this time. “It’s better if you don’t. At least, wait till they get older. Knowing about these things too early ruins a kid, I can tell you.”

“You’re probably right”, Ella said, her brow furrowed in thought. Then her expression cleared a little. “To be honest, in some way I’ve always believed in all the spiritual stuff. I have… this gift.” She smiled, looking almost embarrassed. Sam and Dean exchanged curious looks. “I’m not saying I’m a clairvoyant or anything”, she went on, “but I… sense things about people. I’m very sensitive to their energies.” She smiled a little wider, her eyes fixing on Dean. “You, for example. You’ve got a really pretty wife who adores you. Dark hair, blue eyes?”

Dean choked on his coffee. Sam chuckled and nudged his arm with his elbow.

Ella grinned at them. “Told you I was good. Oh, and I also feel like that you’re going to have many children.” She was visibly getting excited now, encouraged by Sam’s grin and Dean’s shock.

Dean snorted at her last premonition, wishing his face wasn’t as red as it felt. “Yeah, we’ll see”, he muttered into his coffee, not wanting to disappoint Ella who clearly had faith in her abilities.

After coffee, they gave Ella some last advice and words of encouragement, and received an endless string of ‘Thank you’s. When they had managed to get out of the door, they headed to their motel room, both feeling content and somehow revived.

“Good hunt”, Sam said in the car. “Kinda like the good old times.”

“Yeah”, Dean agreed.

“She was really sweet.” He smirked. “And had an interesting gift.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Yeah. What a gift. As far as I know, I don’t have a wife, and I’m most definitely not gonna have any kids.”

“Well…”, Sam said hesitantly, “She got some details right.”

Dean felt himself blushing again. What was it with him these days? Somebody needed to as much as hint at Cas, and he was like a teenager with a raging crush. Get it together, Dean thought to himself. He said nothing.

Sam clearly hadn’t dropped the subject. “Dark hair, blue eyes…”

“Come on, Sam, that was clearly just a good guess”, Dean said, keeping his eyes firmly on the road.

A long silence followed. Dean could sense his brother brimming with frustration next to him.

“Dean”, Sam said finally. “ _I think it’s great_.”

Dean refused to glance at him and see the encouraging grin he knew was there.

“What’s so great”, he said irritably.

“You and Cas!”

For a fleeting moment, Dean felt the urge to tell Sam to shut up. But then he remembered Cas’ words. _You’re improving. I’m proud of you._ He swallowed, glancing at his brother for the first time in minutes.

“Thanks”, he said.

Sam’s face was drawn into a surprised smile.

“So… When did you… You know. Fall for Cas?” he asked, genuinely curious.

“God, I don’t know”, Dean said, trying to control the level of annoyance in his voice. He fell silent for a moment. When did he, exactly? He had never really thought about it. He had denied his feelings for so long that he couldn’t tell the amount of time that he had spent denying them from himself. All he knew was that between the day they had fought Dick Roman and the day Dean had finally found his angel in Purgatory, something had changed. Forever.

“I guess… Purgatory”, he said quietly, focusing on the road again.

Sam asked no more questions. He seemed content.

*

Cas woke up with a start, and realized there was something really, really wrong.

He was drenched in sweat, his whole body shaking. There was an extreme pressure in his abdomen, a pressure that seemed to grow by second. A sharp pain shot through him like a lightning bolt; then it dissipated into a dull ache that radiated through his entire body. He lied still, taking deep breaths, preparing for the pain to return. It did. His breath caught in his throat as another wave of pain hit him, stronger than the first one.

As soon as it waned, he fumbled for the phone on the nightstand.

*

Sam and Dean were back in their motel room, packing their bags.

“You’ve seen my phone?” Dean asked, his gaze sweeping the room.

“Here it is”, Sam said, tossing it across the room to Dean.

Dean gave him a suspicious look. “You’ve been messing with it, haven’t you?”

Sam smirked. “Don’t worry. Nice pictures of Cas, by the way”, he added almost inaudibly.

Dean blushed. Yes, there might have been _some_ pictures of Cas on his phone. Most of them were perfectly innocent. Dean hoped Sam hadn’t really seen the not-so-innocent ones.

As he zipped his duffel bag closed, his phone rang. He stared at the screen for a second.

 _Wife calling_.

“Very funny, Sam”, he snorted, rolling his eyes at his brother who looked way too pleased with himself. Then he answered.

“Hey Cas, what’s up?”

“Dean…”

By the sound of his voice Dean could immediately tell that something was wrong. He went into panic mode in a quarter of a second.

“Cas, what’s wrong?” His heart was racing.

“I’m… I’m not feeling very well. I’m… in pain.”

“What kind of pain? What’s going on?” Dean couldn’t help but yell into his phone, pacing the small room like a caged animal.

“I…” Shallow, ragged rasps of breath. “Just come.”

Cas hang up on him. Dean stared at the phone in horror.

“Let’s go.” He rushed out of the room, startled Sam following him.

*

Cas had wanted to explain, but he couldn’t speak anymore. Not with this excruciating pain knocking the breath out of him, tears streaming down his face. He knew he was in labor now. He had known it would happen soon, but not this soon. His grace was working at full capacity, his body was burning up. He somehow managed to squirm out of his clothes before he collapsed on the bed, desperately grabbing at the sheets as a loud, uncontrollable scream of pain left his lips.

*

Dean was speeding towards Lebanon, exceeding the speed limits by such amounts Sam had to close his eyes every now and then.

“ _Dammit_ ”, Dean muttered, gritting his teeth. “Should have taken him with us.”

“Dean, maybe you should let me drive”, Sam said cautiously.

“I swear”, Dean said, breathing heavily, “I swear to the indifferent, selfish, _lousy_ God – if he’s dead when we get there, I will…” His voice broke. Sam saw his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel.

“Dean. You really should let me drive.” Sam’s voice was determined now. He was trying to stay as calm as possible but it wasn’t easy.

Dean said nothing, but he slowed down, gradually, pulling over to the side of the road. They changed seats in silence.

Sam handed Dean a bottle of whisky as he started the car. Dean snatched it from his hand. There were tears in his eyes.

“And don’t fucking dawdle”, he said, taking a long swig off the bottle.

*

They were back at the bunker in little less than five hours, after a hellish drive during which they had both completely lost their patience with each other. Dean rushed into his room without a word to Sam.

As soon as he opened the door, a weight fell off his shoulders. Cas was sitting up on his bed, looking every bit as alive and healthy as was possible, just quite shaken, his blue eyes wide as they turned to Dean.

“Cas? You OK?”

Dean hurried to him, sitting down on the side of the bed.

“Yes”, Cas said. The shocked look on his face didn’t fade as he stared at Dean.

Dean frowned. He felt a sudden gust of anger.

“What the hell is going on? I was worried to friggin’ death!”

Cas gaped at him, visibly looking for words. Then he dropped his gaze, guilt taking over his features.

“I am sorry, Dean.”

Dean watched in growing confusion as Cas lifted up the blanket.

Under the blanket, in a neat little row, were four sky-blue eggs.


	6. Made From Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How does Dean handle becoming a father?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cried a little writing the last part. Enjoy!

Chapter 6:

They were about the size of a baseball, their shells glowing dimly in a shade of blue that resembled angelic grace. Dean stared blankly at them for a moment.

“What are these?” he said then, frowning.

“I… I laid them.” Cas was visibly uncomfortable, his eyes wandering nervously between Dean and the eggs. He dropped his gaze, blushing. “They’re… our children.”

Dean gave him a shocked look that quickly turned into an expression which seemed to be filled with fear for the angel’s sanity. Then he smiled almost pitifully.

“That’s probably the dumbest joke you’ve ever made”, he said with a nervous laugh. His smile vanished and his frown deepened as his gaze turned back to the four blue eggs in his bed. “Seriously, what are these?”

Cas didn’t reply for a moment. “I just told you”, he said quietly.

It was Dean’s turn to be silent. They both sat in agonizing silence for a while.

Then Dean stood up. Cas had to gather all his courage to lift his gaze and look at him. The hunter had covered his face with his hands.

“You’re not serious”, he said in a muffled voice. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m sorry, Dean”, Cas said, his tone almost pleading. “I didn’t know this was possible.”

Dean let his hands drop. The look of betrayal and anger on his face made Cas recoil.

“What, you skipped the angelic sex-ed classes or something? Jesus Christ, Cas! I can’t friggin’ believe you!”

Cas seemed to startle at his words, like he had been just slapped in the face. His eyes went wide, his breath seemed to catch in his throat. Dean would have felt bad about himself hadn’t he been so angry. Then the angel’s eyes narrowed to slits and he glared at Dean.

“This isn’t just my fault”, he snarled.

“Fuck, Cas.” Dean shook his head in disbelief. “What the fuck are you gonna do now?”

“What am _I_ going to do?” Cas said, raising his voice in anger. “Have them and raise them, of course. What are _you_ going to do?”

Dean ran his hand through his hair. He didn’t seem to be listening. When he said nothing, Cas went on:

“I’m the one who has to suffer from this, Dean!” He locked his eyes on Dean’s, the anger in them only seeming to fuel his own fury. “I’m the one who’s been carrying them inside me, and the one who laid them with tremendous pain! I’m the one who’s forever banned from Heaven because of this! If you don’t want them, fine! I’ll go away and raise them on my own!”

Dean shook his head again. “Fuck, Cas”, he repeated. “What even are they? Are they even gonna be human?”

Cas’ expression darkened. His eyes that started to flicker with bright blue light, growing brighter within seconds until Dean couldn’t look straight into them anymore. Hesitantly, the hunter took a step backwards.

“Cas, I-“

“ _Dean_.” Cas didn’t sound like himself. His voice resembled a thunder rumbling somewhere high above. “You’re upsetting me. You’re upsetting _them_.”

Dean froze, staring in horror at the wall where a shadow of a massive pair of wings was now flaring to their full length.

“Cas-“

“ _Get out.”_

Dean started backing towards the door. He didn’t see any other option than to obey. Closing the door behind him, he stumbled into the corridor and leaned against the wall, his heart racing.

 

*

 

“What the hell happened?” Sam sounded alarmed as he saw his brother staggering into the bunker’s main room. Dean walked to the table, pale and wide-eyed, and fumbled for a seat. He was clearly floundering for words.

“Oh, nothing. Eggs in the bed. Cas showing his wings.” He let out a sound that resembled a nervous laugh.

Sam’s face lit up. “Eggs? So Cas gave birth already?”

Dean stared blankly at him. “You… knew?”

“Well, yeah”, Sam said sheepishly. “But Cas didn’t tell me”, he hurried to add as he saw Dean’s eyes flashing with anger. “I actually told _him_. I read about it in a book.”

“What the hell, man?” Dean stood up, staring at Sam in a mixture of disbelief and rage. “Ever crossed your mind you could have told _me_?”

“Cas wanted to tell you”, Sam said diplomatically. “I promised I wouldn’t utter a word.”

Dean closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. He seemed to be taking deep breaths and counting to ten - or more likely, 100.

Sam was waiting for a furious outburst, but it never came. He quirked an eyebrow at his brother who sat back down, exhaling loudly.

“What kind of book?”

*

When Dean had read the relevant page for the eleventh time, he closed the book. He had been silent the whole time, his eyes scanning the page feverishly. Looking paler than ever, he pushed the book away.

“That’s information I could have used a week ago”, he said, staring at the book like it was contaminated.

“How’s Cas?” Sam asked, thinking it would be appropriate now that Dean had had his time to read everything the book had to offer and adjust a little.

Dean sighed. “Not good, I guess. He’s mad at me. He made it clear I shouldn’t come near that room anytime soon. He thinks I upset the babies… that I _threatened_ them, or something.”

“Well, did you?” Sam asked, frowning.

“ _No_!” Dean snapped. “Of course not! I just raised my voice!” He looked at Sam helplessly. “I’m just… I don’t get is, Sam! Friggin’ eggs! I’m the father of some not-quite-human babies! I didn’t ask for this!”

Sam sighed. “I get that”, Sam said emphatically. “But it’s a fact now. Besides, Cas is not a human, and you love him nonetheless, don’t you?”

Dean let out a frustrated groan. “Of course I do! I just… I’m just so confused.” He looked absolutely terrified, squeezing the edge of the table like searching for support.

“So is Cas”, Sam said. “So am I. This is new for all of us. None of us knows what to expect.” He slapped Dean’s shoulder gently. “You know what, you look like you need a drink. And a brief change of scenery. Some time to mull it over. Let’s go.”

Dean passively followed him up the stairs and out of the bunker.

 

*

 

Cas piled the eggs on his lap. They felt heavy and warm, radiating with such power that Cas was in awe. His anger with Dean quickly dissipated. He only saw their children now.

He caressed the smooth shells of the eggs with his fingers, and the babies responded with vibrations of joy. It was almost like a purring that one could only sense, not hear, and it made Cas feel giddy with joy. He knew now, instinctively, that he didn’t need to worry about them. First he had been anxious about how to keep them alive, how to ensure they would hatch, but now he knew he didn’t need to do anything - just be with them, keep them close. That was all they needed.

He saw them clearer now. He saw little glimpses of future, obscure but enough to convince him that these creatures would take forms that were going to be more human than angel. He saw blue and green eyes beneath dark and sandy hair; he saw tiny hands and feet, heard both laughter and crying. Sounds and sights of life the babies would have with them.

And he saw their souls. He saw who they really were. They were forces of nature, pure and bright, and even though they hadn’t even existed in their current form a week earlier, they were ancient. They were energy of the Universe, like all souls were, rearranged in such a unique and complex way that Cas couldn’t even begin to comprehend it. More clearly than anything, they were him and Dean and what had come to bloom between them. He knew that as soon as they were going to hatch and enter the human world, they would forget all of this. They would have to learn it again, in ways all humans had to learn the human experience. They wouldn’t be these wise, powerful, peaceful beings as they’d take the forms of infants. They wouldn’t remember this connection, this time spent inside their grace shells.

But Cas would. He would always remember, and he would be there to remind them. No matter how sad or angry or lost his children would feel during their lives, Cas would always remember the eternal force within them. He had always sensed that said force in all beings, but never before this clearly. He realized that it was because there was _him_ in them. Some of him had become _them_.

And Dean. Part of Dean was now in them, and would always remain.

Cas was completely calm and happy now. His body had fully recovered from the labor, and all the terror and the tormenting pain were now just distant memories, fading into his new bliss. He had sat still for hours, adoring the weight and warmth of his babies, quietly forming a bond that he knew could never be broken.

He understood now that the babies hadn’t really been afraid of Dean. They had been upset because Cas had been upset. They wanted nothing more than Cas to be happy. Dean, too. They had known Dean. They had greeted him with same happiness they had expressed when Cas had first felt them inside him. Of course Dean couldn’t feel it like Cas could. And Cas had been too scared of Dean’s reaction, too confused about everything, to let Dean know how much the babies loved their father.

He knew he had to fix that.

 

*

 

“One beer, and a very large whiskey for him”, Sam said at the counter, nodding towards Dean.

The bartender raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess. Your wife left you?”

“Quite the opposite, actually”, Sam said before Dean had even had time to register the bartender’s words. “He’s just found out he’s gonna be a dad.”

Dean gave him a death-glare. The man behind the counter smiled, however.

“Oh, well in that case”, he said as he placed Dean’s drink on the counter, “on the house.”

Dean took it, muttering a thank you. Sam led them to a quiet corner table.

“I could punch you”, Dean said as he sat down. Then he shrugged. “But on the other hand, thanks for getting me a free drink”, he said before chugging half of the whiskey in one go.

Sam sighed. “Dean, I know you’re shocked, but you really need to come to terms with this. Cas needs you now. The babies need you.”

Dean let out a bitter laugh. “You should have seen Cas, dude. He doesn’t want me near them.”

“Well, I don’t know, Dean, if you were threatening them-“

“I _wasn’t_ threatening them!” Dean barked. “Cas was the one who was threatening, believe me.” He started rolling the glass between his hands. A tense silence followed. “What if… what if they’re monsters, Sam?” His eyes suddenly turned incredibly sad. “What if I have to… kill them?”

“The book didn’t say anything about them being monsters”, Sam said. “Don’t you think it would have mentioned it? Come on, it was written by a crazy monk who believed almost everything in the world was evil enough to be hunted. No such words about angel-born Nephilim.”

Dean hummed, thoughtful. “Even if they’re not monsters… I _can’t_ be a dad. I just… can’t.” Dean’s voice was small, his expression lost and perplexed. It hurt Sam to see.

“Yes, you can”, he said. “You’re not doing this alone, Dean. You’ve got Cas. You’ve got me. We’ll figure this out together, OK?”

Dean nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the glass. “I know”, he said after a while. “I’m just scared. What if I… fail? What if I won’t be able to bond with them? If I already upset them…” He fell silent. Sam thought he saw tears in his eyes.

“Hey, listen to me. Even if you did upset them, they’ll forgive you. You’ll get a fresh start, I’m sure about it. They’re _your_ _kids_ , Dean. They’ll love you.”

Dean downed the last of his whiskey, blinking the tears from his eyes. “I hope you’re right, Sammy. In any case, I wouldn’t blame them if they loved Cas more.” A fond smile appeared on his face. “He’s a friggin’ miracle, Sam. And I… I love him.” He avoided Sam’s eyes as he said this, his cheeks reddening slightly.

Sam smiled. “I know you do. You’re ready to go back? Maybe go and tell that to him?”

Dean nodded. “But I’m not gonna go in that room tonight. I’ll crash in the guest room. If I can sleep, that is.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Dean, maybe you should just go back in there and-“

“No”, Dean said firmly. “No way. I don’t exactly feel welcome.” He smiled bitterly.

Sam shook his head. Dean could be so damn stubborn sometimes. But Sam knew he’d come around. It was frustrating to witness in the meantime, but he was sure than in a day or two, all this moping would be over.

 

*

 

It was past midnight when Dean laid down on the small, rickety bed in the guest room. Staring at the ceiling, he let out a long sigh. He wasn’t hiding from Cas and the babies. He was _punishing himself_. It seemed like all his shock and anger had slowly waned, and what remained was only guilt and shame. He had said things that made him sick to think about now.

He wondered if it was better if he stayed away as much as possible. Was that what Cas wanted? The thought felt like an icy dagger in his guts. What if their relationship was now going to be like one of those miserable Teen Mom stories: he’d help Cas out and support the kids, but what had been between them before was gone for good. Was he going to be a weekend dad in his own home? The thought almost made him laugh, but in the most joyless way possible.

He tossed and turned on the bed, eyes open. All possible scenarios crossed his mind, each one scary or disheartening.

Then he heard the door opening. His heart jumped, and he sat up.

The figure of Cas appeared in the doorway. He was wearing only a pair of black boxers and his usual white shirt. Dean watched, petrified, as he closed the door behind him and padded across the floor, carrying a basket in his arms.    

Without a word, Cas sat on the bed, and gently placed the basket on Dean’s lap.

“They wanted their father”, Cas said softly. His smile and voice, everything about him, was brimming with tenderness as his gaze met Dean’s. Dean could only blink. He was continuously stunned by Cas’ ability to forgive him. There wasn’t a trace of anger or sadness about the angel as he took Dean’s hand and placed it on the eggs. Dean gasped at the sensation. They felt warm under his hand, and so _alive_ , almost like something was moving inside them. Tears filled his eyes.

“Cas, I’m sorry”, he whispered shakily. “I’m so, so sorry…”

Cas put his finger to Dean’s lips, silencing him. “It’s OK, Dean.”

Dean grabbed Cas’ finger and pressed a soft kiss on it.

Cas smiled wider and then turned to look at the eggs.

“They are so happy to be close to you, Dean.”

Dean sniffed. “Are _you_?” He had to ask.

In response, Cas leaned back on the bed beside Dean, resting his head on his shoulder.

“More than that”, he said.

Dean let out a sigh of relief, and draped an arm around Cas’ waist. The angel’s soft hair was tickled his neck, sending pleasant shivers throughout his body. He squeezed Cas tight against himself. He never wanted to let go.

He started caressing the shell of one egg.

“Our babies”, he said tenderly. “They gonna be OK?”

“Yes”, Cas said. “The shell is solid grace. They don’t need anything else. They’ll hatch when they’re ready.”

"They're tiny", Dean breathed out.

"The will grow." Cas smiled.

“You’ve got some kind of a psychic connection with them?” Dean asked.

“Sort of”, Cas said. “I sense things about them. Like I sense about others, but much more strongly.”

Dean let his fingers trace the smooth shells.

“And they… are they gonna be more human or angel?”

“Mostly human”, Cas said.

Dean watched them in awe, and smiled against Cas’ hair.

“I can’t believe I got you knocked-up.”

Cas hummed softly, nuzzling Dean’s neck. “To be honest… I’m glad you did. And I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you”, he added. “I tried to. But I was so afraid. And then you said you didn’t want to be a father…”

“I was a dick, Cas”, Dean said. “I was... I was afraid too. I still am.”

Cas lifted up his face, locking his eyes with Dean’s. The look in his eyes was pure gentleness. The blue in them still made Dean’s chest ache. _They are so beautiful_.

“What are you afraid of?” the angel asked, examining Dean’s face.

Dean looked away.

“Myself, I guess”, he said finally. Cas looked confused. “Cas, I was a friggin’ _demon_.” Dean gritted his teeth. “What kind of a dad used to be a demon? I’m so ashamed of myself you have no idea.”

Cas grabbed his arm gently, stroking the spot where the Mark of Cain had been. “Dean, the Mark is gone. It’s all in the past. It’s all you now.”

Dean relaxed into Cas’ touch, closing his eyes. He felt so good like this: Cas against him, soft fingers caressing his skin, and his own hand pressed against the warmth of their babies.

“Dean, you will be a very good father”, Cas said tenderly. “And I will be a good mother.”

Dean chuckled gently. “Cas. You’re a _dude_.”

Cas smiled at him. “No, I’m not.”

Dean raised his eyebrows. “You’re telling me you’re a lady angel?”

“I’m neither, Dean. I’m just an angel”, Cas said simply. “And I gave birth to them, so I’m the mother.”

Dean laughed at Cas’ eagerness to be a mother. An overwhelming joy came over him, and he pressed a kiss on Cas’ forehead. The angel was practically purring in his arms.

“You should get some sleep”, Cas said. “I’ll watch over you. _We_ ’ll watch over you.”

 

Dean had never fallen asleep as happy as he did that night.


	7. Miracles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems that the babies are ready to hatch...

In three weeks, they had turned one of the bedrooms into a nursery. It was next to Dean’s room, a little small but would do until the babies were able to move around by themselves. Once bare and grim, it was now cozy and warm. The walls that used to be grey concrete were now a soft shade of lavender. One day Dean had handed Cas a color chart and asked him to pick a new color for the walls. Dean had thought Cas understood colors better than he did: he believed Cas could see all the subtle shades he couldn’t and would know how they affected the human moods and whatnot. And he hadn’t been wrong: as soon as they had finished painting the room together, it was like a whole new room. It had a very pleasant, calming atmosphere. They both knew the babies would love it.

There were no windows, but Cas had bought a painting of a garden, full of blooming flowers and trees. There were many charming little details, like a fountain and a bird nest in one of the trees. Dean had put up a curtains rail above it and now it served as a window with new, light yellow curtains.

Dean had also stocked up on diapers, pacifiers, and baby bottles. He had also gotten a new bed for the nursery, and two cribs. Dean had wanted four cribs, one for each baby, but as they took measurements and planned the outlook of the room, he soon realized there wasn’t enough room. Besides, Cas thought it would be nice for the babies to share a crib with another.

Cas was now laying on the bed of the nursery, curled up comfortably with the eggs nestled in the space between his thighs and chin. They had grown big now. He had to keep his legs almost straight, unlike some weeks ago when the eggs hadn’t been bigger than baseballs. He didn’t need to sleep; he didn’t feel tired. He just knew he had to keep the eggs close. He was nesting.

He kept his eyes open, watching the shell closest to his face. It looked almost transparent now: it looked thinner, the blue almost white now. Every now and then he thought he saw movement under the shell. It wouldn’t take long until the babies would hatch.

“You’re almost ready, darlings”, Cas said softly. He couldn’t wait. He wanted to hold each solid little figure in his arms, to see the human-forms of what was the result of his and Dean’s love. But what he was most excited about was that _Dean would finally see them_. Dean clearly loved the babies even in their egg forms, but to him they really looked like… just eggs. He didn’t really see them as these alive, complex beings Cas knew them to be. It would feel all the more real to Dean then, and Cas couldn’t wait to see Dean holding his son and daughters in his arms.

Yes, Cas had seen it: three girls and a boy. That was the newest and clearest vision he had had. When he had told Dean, the hunter had cried and called him “amazing”. Cas had reminded him that he wasn’t the one who should be credited for that, because the sexes of the babies were determined by the father. Dean had told him to shut up before kissing him breathless.

Cas smiled as he thought of Dean. There was a new kind of happiness about him. In a short time, Dean seemed to have learned that he was _allowed_ to be happy. And Cas hadn’t even needed to remind him of that – more than a couple of times. Cas suddenly felt a little worried. He knew he hadn’t paid as much attention to Dean now that the eggs were here. Dean was the one who had done all the shopping and practical planning while Cas was nesting. Sometimes Cas wondered if Dean really was happy with this “arrangement”. But he guessed that they just had different roles now: not because they were father and “mother”, but because they were an angel and a human. There was an instinctive need in Cas to never wander too far from the eggs or expose them to the outside world, and Dean on the other hand naturally took care of the practical stuff. Cas was so grateful and proud of him, and he wanted Dean to know that.

Cas lifted his head as the door opened. Dean walked in and smiled at him – at them.

“Hey”, he said softly. “How’s mommy?”

Cas smiled. “Mommy’s good. Happy.”

“And the babies?”

Dean sat on the bed, placing a hand on one of the eggs.

“They’re happy too.”

Dean’s smile grew wider. “I got them something.”

He opened a plastic bag he had brought with him, and one by one, laid out four onesies on the bed. Each one was different pastel color: pink, yellow, purple and blue. They all had the same polka dot pattern and the dots were white.

“Kinda cute, huh?” Dean said, grinning.

Cas traced a finger along the blue one. The fabric felt delightfully soft.

“Yes.” He smiled up at Dean. “Thank you, Dean.” He hesitated for a moment, before saying, with a half-smile: “You don’t still think they might be monsters, do you?”

Dean shook his head. “No. I don’t.” He gave Cas a long look, so sweet and adoring Cas immediately felt soft and warm all over. “Like something that came out of _you_ could be evil.” Cas dropped his gaze, chuckling as if to say Dean was talking nonsense. But the truth was Dean’s words made him incredibly happy, and his cheeks flushed with pleasure.

When he raised his eyes again, Dean seemed to consider something, looking almost nervous.

“I also got these”, he said then, pulling something from his pocket. It was a package of condoms.

“I mean, we can’t do it like we used, right?” Dean was visibly blushing, and it made Cas fill with a delightful mixture of amusement and affection.

“No, we can’t”, he confirmed. “Unless you want more babies.”

Dean chuckled. “I think four’s enough, for now.”

They were silent for a moment. Dean brought his hand to caress the slight curve of Cas’ hip.

“So…” he said, smiling nervously. “You wanna test one of these?”

Cas glanced at him, surprised. “Now?”

Dean let out an almost impatient sigh. “Cas, _I want you_. It’s been weeks.”

Cas smiled. “I want you too, Dean.” He sat up, wrapping his arms around Dean’s shoulders and kissing his lips softly. Dean grabbed him by the waist, before his hands started wandering up and down his sides, and the kiss deepened. Dean’s lips soon strayed away from Cas’, tracing down his chin and moving on to his neck, fervent and hot on his skin.

“Dean…” Cas said uncomfortably. “If they were humans, they’d be making puking noises right now.”

Dean drew back, and noticed Cas’ gaze was fixed on the eggs. He laughed. “I guess we’d better ‘get a room’, then.” He took Cas’ hand and stood up. Cas seemed to hesitate.

“Come on, babe. You can leave them for a moment. There’ll be just one wall between us”, he said, stroking Cas’ hair gently. “Come on. Sure they’ll let daddy borrow mommy for a moment.”

Dean looked like an overly excited kid on a Christmas morning as he pulled at Cas’ hand gently, and Cas knew he couldn’t say no to him. He stood up, and after casting one last look towards the eggs, followed Dean who looked like he could have started frolicking any second.

*

When Cas felt Dean filling him up, he could only wonder how he had almost forgotten how incredible this was. Dean’s weight on him, Dean _inside_ him – that was the very definition of bliss to him. He moaned uncontrollably as Dean bottomed out inside of him. Dean grunted in response, pressing a few heated kisses on his neck before he started making thrusts, setting a fast, hungry pace. Cas yelped, his whole body tensing up, as Dean angled his hips, hitting his prostate. It was overwhelming.

All too soon it was over – one particularly deep and hard thrust was too much for Cas. He let out a cry as he felt himself clenching around Dean, the entire world exploding to shreds of ecstasy. Dean soon followed: only a few thrusts later, still shaking from his orgasm, Cas felt Dean stilling inside him as his cock started throbbing wildly. Dean let out a cry so loud it was evident he just didn't care anymore if Sam could hear. Then he collapsed on Cas, his breath ragged and uneven.

“Wow”, Dean panted into his ear. “I really, really needed that.”

“Me too”, Cas agreed, out of breath.

Dean rolled off and removed the condom carefully.

“These seem to be working just fine”, he said after making sure there weren’t any leaks or breakages, grinning at Cas.

Cas snuggled up against Dean with a sigh. “I’m sorry I haven’t given you enough attention.” He kissed along Dean’s jawline.

Dean hummed happily. “Don’t worry about it, baby. The kids need all the attention.”

“But you _deserve_ my attention, Dean”, Cas insisted. “I want to make you happy and give you pleasure.”

“Wow”, Dean breathed out, staring into Cas’ honest eyes in awe. “You really are amazing, Cas.”

Cas sat up, looking firmly into Dean’s eyes.

“Dean, I mean it. I want you to promise me. Whenever you want something from me, whenever you feel like I’m not paying enough attention to you, tell me. I want to fulfill all your needs and desires.”

Dean let out a breathy laugh. “Honestly – I know I just came, but I think you just gave a new boner.”

“Promise me”, Cas insisted.

“Oh, baby - I promise”, Dean swore, tugging at Cas shirt, urging him to lay back down. Cas smiled, happily resting his head on Dean’s chest.

“Are you still… afraid of being a father?” he asked hesitantly.

Dean sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, I am. But you know what? I’ve started to think that it’s OK. To be afraid. Maybe it’s OK.” There was such peacefulness in his tone that it warmed Cas’ heart.

 “It _is_ OK, Dean.”

They had been lying in silence for a few minutes, savoring the closeness and warmth of each other, when Cas suddenly jolted up from the bed.

“Cas, what-?”

“The babies”, Cas said. “They’re hatching.”

*

Dean called for Sam, and then hurried after Cas into the nursery.

The first one to hatch was one of the baby girls. The shell cracked with a _chink!_ \- revealing a squirming newborn with lots of dark hair and bright blue eyes. The egg shell pieces around her seemed to turn into flowing grace, absorbing into her body through her skin as she laid silent and wide-eyed for a second – and her parents stared at the process with the same expression. Then she started crying.

Cas picked her up gently, holding her like she was made of thin glass.

“Welcome, sweetheart”, he cooed. The crying subsided. “Remember me? I’m your mommy. This is your dad.” He turned to Dean who stood next to him, petrified, looking almost like he could faint any second. Dean made a gesture towards the baby, seemingly unable to speak. Cas carefully placed her into his arms, and his eyes filled with tears as he smiled down to her.

“Hey there, beauty”, he said softly. “So good to finally meet you.”

Sam took a step closer, peering at her above Dean’s shoulder. A wide smile lit up his entire face.

“She’s beautiful”, he said.

The girl - who was named Mary - was swaddled into a blanket by Sam’s skillful hands. (“Where did you learn that, Sammy?” “YouTube tutorial. You don’t think I was gonna become an uncle without any practice?”) Then the happy uncle hurried to the kitchen to prepare some formula.

“She’s a miracle”, Dean said, his voice hoarse with tears, lifting his gaze from Mary to Cas. Cas smiled, and Dean leaned in to give him a kiss. Then a _chink!_ pierced the air, and another egg cracked on the bed.

The next one was another baby girl with dark hair and blue eyes. They named her Grace. She was nestling contently in Dean’s arms, while Sam was bottle-feeding Mary, when the third baby entered the world.

She also had blue eyes, but her hair was a lighter shade than the others’. Cas stared at her in awe, then smiled, and raised his eyes to Dean. They were filled with tears just like the hunter’s.

“ _Claire_ ”, Cas said, his voice a shaky whisper.

Dean nodded, a fond smile growing only wider as he looked at his third daughter. Soon she was swaddled up in his arms.

The last one to hatch was the boy, a spitting image of Dean: light brown hair and green eyes. Dean had to sit down on the bed to hold him: he was already feeling shaky and meeting his son was enough to make him weak at the knees. Cas sat next to him, baby Claire in his arms.

“I think I’ve got a name for him”, Dean said, his eyes fixed on the baby boy.

“I know”, Cas said. A gentle smile played on his lips. “Robert.”

Dean nodded.

Sam was busy with an armful of babies: he was bottle-feeding Claire while Mary started squirming and crying in his hold. Cas got up and took her, sitting back down next to Dean, struggling to keep both Mary and Claire comfortable on his lap.

He had been right: the connection there had been between the eggs and him was now gone. It gave him an almost empty feeling inside. But he also understood that this was the beginning of a new connection: to take care of these infants, to see them grow and learn, that was a whole new challenge, and with Dean and uncle Sam he knew their lives would be very happy. And he’d always know the true forms of the babies, the forms only he had seen in his mind, the force and strength that resided within them. He smiled as he nudged Claire’s lips with a bottle and she happily started sucking on it.

“I think they'll have powers”, he said. Dean lifted his gaze from Bobby for the first time in minutes.

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes. Their souls absorbed the grace of the egg shells. I think they’ll be mostly human, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had some healing abilities. Possibly even demon smiting powers.” He grinned proudly at Claire and Mary in his arms.

Dean grinned too. “Awesome. Our babies are BAMFs. I knew it.”

Eventually all the babies were fed and content, and one by one, they started dozing off. They were gently laid down in their cribs, and Sam left Dean and Cas alone with them, but not before giving both parents a long and rib-crushing congratulatory hug.

“Thank you”, Dean whispered into Cas’ ear as they stood above the cribs, wrapping his arms around Cas from behind. “Thank you for these miracles.”

Cas smiled. “It wasn’t just me, Dean. You helped.”

Dean hummed happily into his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many mommy!Cas and daddy!Dean feels ;w;
> 
> I think the last chapter will be a sort of a epilogue where we see how things are going later on. Featuring a guest star... ;)


	8. The Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little follow-up on how the family is doing 3 months, two years, and then 5 years later. :)

**3 months later**

 

Cas was sitting by the crib, holding baby Claire in his arms. His habit was to sit with the babies every night, as he didn’t need sleep, watching over them. He would have wanted to watch over Dean as well sometimes, but Dean still thought it was creepy. Cas wanted to make sure the hunter was getting enough sleep and didn’t have to get up every time one of the babies started crying. Mostly this attempt was futile, though, as Dean did get up almost every night to spend time with him and the babies.

 _“I don’t want them to get more attached to you than to me”,_ he had said, slightly worried, after Cas had scolded him for not sleeping enough. So their most typical night started with the two of them putting the babies to sleep, then Dean going to sleep and Cas staying in the nursery, Dean joining the five of them a couple of hours later, and falling asleep in the chair before the morning came. Cas had emphasized that there was really no need to do this every night, and that the babies couldn’t be more attached to Dean as they already were, but Dean didn’t listen. (Of course, Cas also made sure there were nights where he could spend some time in Dean’s bed, too.)

This night seemed a little different from the usual ones. It was already past 3 AM, and Claire was the only one who had started crying. Her sisters and brother had woken up too, but they weren’t crying, just wiggling in their cribs, babbling softly every now and then. It seemed Dean was soundly asleep in the next room. Cas rocked Claire gently, trying to make her crying subside. She was calmer now, but every now and then made distressed noises, clearly unhappy. After Cas had fed her and changed her diaper, and the crying continued, he understood what was the problem.

“You miss your daddy, don’t you?”

Claire gave out a loud cry. Cas was almost sure she had understood.

“Daddy is sleeping”, he said apologetically, pressing the baby against his chest. “You should be sleeping too.”

Suddenly Claire made a completely different sound – happy, delighted. Cas turned his head and saw Dean standing at the door, draped in his grey robe. He looked a little groggy, squinting at the light of the room, but smiled gently at Cas and Claire.

“He-heyyy”, he said, walking to them. “Is daddy’s girl giving mommy trouble again?” Claire cooed cheerfully and made grabby hands at him. Dean picked her up. “Yes, I am. Yes, that’s me. I do that”, he cooed back at her, impersonating her and making Cas chuckle. Dean sat on the couch next to Cas, holding Claire so that her tiny feet were padding against his thigh.

“Oh, can you walk?” Dean said excitedly. “Show mommy how you walk.” He turned her so that she was facing Cas. She babbled happily as she made clumsy efforts of this aided “walking”.

Cas smiled at them, his eyes bright and full of emotion. He brought his hand to caress Claire’s soft cheek, then did the same to Dean’s cheek. Dean closed his eyes, relaxing into his touch.

Cas was so proud of him, and he hadn’t forgotten to tell Dean that. It seemed like most of the insecurity and the self-hatred Dean had harbored only some 3 months ago, was now gone. He had changed so much. There was this _light_ about him. This was the Dean that had been hiding underneath all the emotional baggage, this was the real, cheerful Dean that had been missing for so long - loving and loved. Sure, he would still blush deeply when somebody at a supermarket realized that the quadruplets were his and Cas’, but he handled those situations so well these days. Underneath that blush, there was real _pride_ in there – there was an air of “ _yeah, I love this cutie, and these amazing kids are ours, so what?”_ And that was so different from that Dean who couldn’t even touch Cas publicly that it amazed Cas. It was beautiful, and Cas was so proud of him. Fatherhood had changed Dean. All this _love_ had changed him. Cas guessed the worn-out sayings about the power of love really were true.

“I wish you could come to bed with me”, Dean muttered longingly, peering at Cas over Claire’s head.

“I can”, Cas assured. “As soon as we get them to sleep again.”

Mary, Grace and Bobby had joined in Claire’s display of joy, wiggling restlessly and babbling and cooing, each of them seemingly eager to get their parents attention.

Dean chuckled. “That may be easier said than done.” He handed a much calmer Claire back to Cas, and picked up Mary. “Hey, princess.” Mary babbled at him excitedly. “English is really not your strongest language, is it?” he cooed at her.

One by one, however, Dean and Cas managed the impossible: all four babies were finally asleep.

“You’re so good with them, Dean”, Cas said softly, pressing a kiss on Dean’s jaw. “They adore you.”

Dean grinned. “Well, it’s nice to have four fans.”

“Five.” Cas smiled.

Dean wrapped his arms around him, peppering his face with kisses.

“Come on, babe”, he murmured into his ear. “I wanna sleep with you.”

“You mean…” Cas looked at him, unsure.

“I mean the actual sleeping”, Dean chuckled sleepily, stifling a yawn. “I don’t think 'little Dean' is awake this time of the night.”

Cas smiled. “But you still won’t let me watch over you?”

“Absolutely not”, Dean said, his voice a mix of gentle and stern. “You better play sleeping or something. Just make sure you’re not staring when I wake up or so help me…”

Cas smiled as he followed Dean out of the room. _Some things never changed._

*

**Two years later**

 

As the quadruplets got a little older, Dean, Cas and Sam began hunting again. It was a way of life that even the little ones could not completely alter, it seemed. They usually took turns: at least one of them was watching the babies, and if the case was an easy one, only one of them had to go for a hunt. Cas was most often the one who stayed in the bunker: he was the most reluctant to leave the babies. He constantly worried over the tiniest things: in that sense he proved to be even worse than Dean. But when little Bobby got a scratch at the age of 10 months and healed it himself, Cas was calmed down. Yes, it turned out that Dean and Cas’ offspring really did have healing abilities, and as they grew, they all started displaying them. It seemed these were really very special children indeed. By the age of 6 moths, all four of them had taken their first steps. By the age of one, they could speak more words than an average human child could. Dean had thought they might turn out to be some kinds of angels after all, but they kept their non-angelic qualities all along: they ate and pooped and slept like normal human kids – meaning, a lot.

They were, in a sense, the perfectly balanced mix of angel and human.

Currently, Sam was watching after them as Dean and Cas were away. But this was not like the usual times – the couple was not on a hunt. Sam had encouraged them to take some time-off. “Just for one weekend”, he had said, rolling his eyes at the hesitation on Dean and Cas’ face. “They’ll be OK. We’ll be OK. You really deserve a break. Go on, spoil yourselves. And each other”, he added with a smirk, causing Dean to give Cas a suggestive lift of an eyebrow. “What the hell”, the older Winchester had said. “I’m not saying no to having Cas all to myself for a couple of days.” When Cas had smiled at him almost bashfully, Sam had known it was decided.

The kids were playing on the floor of the main room (currently coated with big, fluffy blankets and covered with numerous toys), as Sam was reading at the table. He couldn’t have imagined babysitting for four toddlers could be this easy. He didn’t even have to worry about them, for it was clear they could heal themselves if anything happened to them.

“Uncle Sammy!” Bobby toddled towards him with something in his hand. “My car is broken.”

Sam looked at the miniature car in Bobby’s tiny hands. One of the wheels had come off. “Let’s see.” He took the toy into his hands, trying to mend it.

“Aw, I’m sorry, buddy”, he said gently, ruffling the little boy’s light brown hair. “But your daddy should be home any minute, maybe you should ask him to fix it? He’s very good with cars.”

Bobby’s frown vanished, and a wide smile came over his face. “Yeah! He is!” Then he ran off to the girls, soon occupied with the broken car with a determination drawn on his little features. Sam could only chuckle at how much of a Dean miniature he was. Then he returned to his book, a quiet, gentle happiness welling inside of him.

“Hello, Moose.”

The familiar voice behind his back felt like somebody had dropped a bucket of ice into his neck. He darted up from his seat, immediately pointing a gun at the demon who smirked at him.

“Crowley”, Sam said, his voice dripping with rage. “What are you doing here?”

“Relax”, Crowley said, lifting up his hands and raising his eyebrows. “Just came to check on you and Squirrel. Haven’t heard of you for almost two years, was getting just a tad worried…” His eyes had wandered across the room and spotted the four kids on the floor. They stared back at him with pure curiosity.

“What are these midgets?” Crowley said with a frown.

Sam stood protectively in front of them.

“None of your business. Get out. Now.”

An epiphany came over Crowley’s face. “Oh. I see.” He peeked past Sam and waved at the kids. They waved back. “Got yourself a little family then, Moose? That explains everything.”

“What? No”, Sam said.

“Oh, they’re _Dean_ ’s then”, Crowley said, his face turning more and more amused. “Who – if I may ask – has the dishonor of being the mother?”

Sam swallowed hard. Never in a million years would he discuss any of this with the King of Hell.

He was just opening his mouth demanding Crowley to beat it, when the door opened above them and Dean walked in. He looked down and froze when he saw Crowley. Even from down where Sam stood, he could tell his brother’s face was that of pure hate.

“Daddy!” All the kids shouted out in unison. Dean started descending the stairs, the kids rushing to him. He picked up Bobby and Grace, as Mary and Claire clang onto his legs.

“Hey, sweeties”, he said softly, but his face couldn’t lose the hardness caused by Crowley. He glared at the demon, who was grinning at him mockingly. “See you’ve met my… old acquaintance here.” He cleared his throat. “What are you doing here?” he asked Crowley, his voice icy cold.

“As I told Moose here, I just came to check on you”, Crowley said nonchalantly. “You see, I’m not used to see a  _two years_ pass without the Winchesters showing up. But now I see why”, he nodded towards the kids in Dean’s arms. "I'm surprised I haven't read about this in 'The News of Hell'. Dean Winchester getting hitched with some poor skank and knocking her up with four brats... that should have made the front page."

“ _Get out_.” That was all Dean had to say.

“I don’t see why you’re both so unhospitable”, Crowley said defensively. “Look at the little ones. They don’t seem to mind me being here at all.”

It was true. All four of them had only expressed curiosity towards him, and that curiosity had quickly waned. Now they seemed almost completely indifferent, focused on their father.

The sound of a door opening and closing pierced the quiet of the room. Cas appeared at the top of the stairs, his face immediately furious as he spotted Crowley.

“You", he growled. "Get. Out."

Crowley opened his mouth, but was interrupted by the quadruplets.

“Mommy!” they exclaimed, Mary and Claire rushing to him as Bobby and Grace reached out their hands towards him over Dean’s shoulders.

Cas had descended the stairs, and stood now at the end of the stairs, positively abashed, torn between expressing tenderness and joy towards his children and threatening Crowley with all that he’d got. He seemed to settle with a rather awkward compromise, picking up Mary and Claire and pressing them protectively against himself as he kept giving Crowley the death glare.

Crowley, however, was the most dumbfounded person in the room. Upon hearing the kids calling Cas “mommy”, his jaw had dropped, and his face seemingly couldn’t decide whether to look shocked or deeply amused.

“Oh. _Oh_.” That was all he could say. An uncomfortable silence followed. “So… Squirrel and Feathers… had… quadruplets?”

Dean blushed to a deeper shade of dark red; Cas looked like he had decided to end Crowley with his glare; and Sam stood petrified by the table still holding the gun.

“Yeah”, Dean said abruptly. “What’s it to you?”

“Oh nothing”, Crowley said. The others were surprised to see him wiping his forehead that had broken out in sweat. “They’re… _Nephilim_ , then?”

“Yeah”, Dean said. The pride in his voice was undeniable.

“I swear”, Cas said, his voice shaking with rage, “if you or any of your  _kind_ is ever going to try to hurt them-“

“Oh, I know better than that!” Crowley said quickly. He looked… scared. _Genuinely_ scared. Dean frowned. “No demon is dumb enough to even go near a… Nephilim.” Crowley almost shuddered as his eyes wandered between the kids. “Those things… they can end a demon in a…” He looked shocked as he gazed up at Dean, then to Cas, as if he had just realized he had said too much. “In fact, I should be going.” And in a blink of an eye, he had disappeared.

Dean sat down at the table with a sigh of relief. He placed the Bobby and Grace to sit on the edge of the table.

“What the fudge was that?”

Cas came to sit next to him, laying the girls down next to their siblings.

“It seems the feeling I had was accurate”, Cas said. He looked relieved, the worry and anger completely gone. “Our children have grace in them, and grace is toxic to demons. I think it’s safe to say they are protected against demons.”

Dean looked unsure. “What if he was bluffing?”

“I don’t think so, Dean”, Sam chipped in. “I mean, he look pretty horrified. And as Cas said, if the kids have grace, and they can heal, it seems they really are… quite powerful.”

Dean hummed, not completely convinced, but a broad, proud smile came over his face as he looked at his children sitting in a row in front of him.

“Daddy, we missed you and mommy”, Mary said, looking up at him with her huge, blue eyes. Dean chuckled. “We missed you too. All of you. Did uncle Sammy take good care of you?”

“Yeah”, the four of them agreed in unison, nodding enthusiastically.

Only Bobby had one complaint. “But he couldn’t fix my car.”

“Did you break your car?” Dean asked. “Bobby, man, you’ve got loads of others. Mommy buys them for you all the time.” He cast Cas an almost accusatory look, one that seemed to say _You’re spoiling the kids_.

“We’ll get a new one”, Cas assured, ignoring Dean skillfully. Dean rolled his eyes and shook his head. But a smile lingered on his face.

“You don’t have to”, Bobby said cheerfully. “I fixed it myself!”

“Really?” Sam said. “You’re quite a handyman”, he added as he picked the car up from the floor and examined it. “How did you do it?”

“I just focused on it”, Bobby said. “And then this light came out of my fingers and it was fixed!”

Dean and Cas looked at each other, then at Sam, then back at Bobby.

“Really?” Dean said. Bobby nodded wildly.

“I told you”, Cas said to Dean, smiling. “Our children are powerful.”

Dean did a fist bump with Bobby, grinning at all four of them. “You hear that, kids? You’re powerful. That means you’re bad-a-“ He was silenced by Cas’ scolding stare and Sam clearing his throat. “Uh, that mean’s you’re… _extra tough_. You’ve got some special mojo in you, OK?”

The children beamed at him.

“Is it because mommy is an angel?” Grace asked.

“Yeah”, Dean confirmed, looking adoringly at Cas.

Sam had sat down on the other side of the table. He couldn’t help but grin at the look Dean gave Cas, and how flustered it seemed to make the angel. It was all really sweet to witness.

“What about your weekend, did you have a good time?” Sam asked the two of them.

“Yeah, we had a lot of… _good times_ ”, Dean said, smiling flirtatiously at already blushed Cas, making Sam roll his eyes. Dean could be sweet but he could also be kind of gross sometimes.

*

**Some 5 years later**

 

Years passed in peaceful happiness. No demons nor angels intruded the bubble of love around them.

The quadruplets grew and learned quickly. At the age of seven they had already started familiarizing themselves with the book collection in the library, as well as learned what it meant to be the heirs of the Men of Letters. Dean and Cas had decided they would never teach the kids to hunt, even though they themselves still worked as part-time hunters. But they thought that the literary heritage of the supernatural was good for the kids to be familiar with.

They also had other hobbies apart from sitting in the library (as much as that pleased Sam who had become a sort of a teacher to them). Mini golf was their favorite past-time, and they were astoundingly good at it. At least once a week, Dean and Cas would take them to play mini golf, also occasionally trying some other games such as baseball and petanque. But in the end, they always wanted to go back to mini golf.

“You know what”, Cas said to Dean one day. “I think our children could become professional golfers.

It really did seem that in many ways the kids had become very accomplished and independent in general. Both Cas and Dean got to know the feeling of “They grow up so fast”.

It was the quadruplets’ 8th birthday, and everybody had gathered around a giant cake in the kitchen. When it was almost eaten – and that didn’t take long – Dean stood up, smiling at the kids and Sam almost nervously.

“Sammy… kids… I’ve got something to tell you. A sort of… announcement, I guess.”

Cas, who had left the room to take the children’s birthday presents into their rooms, came in just then and halted by the doorway. Dean smiled at him. “Come here, babe.”

“ _Babe_ ”, Mary whispered, making a disgusted face at her siblings. “Eww”, Grace confirmed.

Dean wrapped his arms around Cas from behind, leaning his chin on his shoulder.

“The thing is… Your mommy’s pregnant.”

The kids’ eyes went wide. Sam looked positively shocked.

“Awesome!” Bobby exclaimed then, standing up on his chair and pointing his fist at Dean. Dean chuckled as he bumped his own fist with his son’s. “Thanks buddy.”

“Oh my god”, Mary said, clutching her face. The other girls were practically squeeing.

“So were definitely gonna have a little brother or a sister?” Grace asked, excited.

“Several of them”, Cas confirmed, beaming at his children. Dean caressed his stomach which had already starting to grow.

“Congratulations”, Sam said, slowly overcoming his shock. He had some concerns about the practical stuff, but he understood that now was not the time for that. Besides, he was more than happy about becoming an uncle a second time.

Dean let go of Cas, but kept his hand on his waist, pushing him gently towards (what was left of) the cake. “You have the last piece”, he said, and slapped his ass. Cas gave him a glare, but accepted the cake eagerly.

“Dad, you’re gross”, Claire said disapprovingly, shaking her head at Dean.

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ughhh, Dean really IS gross.  
> *  
> Sorry for any inconstancies or clumsy writing you may have encountered – this is just a silly little story I wrote to satisfy some of my fluffy mpreg needs, and if you have enjoyed it too, all the better! Thank you very much for reading! <3


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